Ritualia Hominis "Kompendium Historia De Revolution" CD Digisleeve

Revolutions in europe with an big impact for the social evolution
illustrated 4-panel digisleeve made of cardboard Limited to 100 hand-numbered copies.

Ritualia Hominis is a one-man-project and creates Black Metal with many influences (Death, Dark etc.) The Themes are idiosyncrasies, properties, emotions of humans and History.

To complete my actual Schattenpfade trilogy I have chosen to go with “Kompendium Historia de Revolution”, the second full length by German one man project Ritualia Hominis. I would classify the style of this band as pretty classic black metal mainly taking influences from the first, but also the second wave, enhanced by some more unorthodox influences. There is a certain level of harshness inherit in the music, leading to a frosty overall atmosphere.
This is ceremonial black metal standing on its own as a hypnotic, captivating ritual experience. Lead guitar sounds are echoing in the hollow, and the main chords are chugging along in stoic manner. Sometimes Ole (the band creator and sole musician involved) keeps blending the main riffs into a whitewash of warbling sound, like an unstable connection between our realm and the cursed lands of unfathomable darkness and sorrow. What you will come to notice is the pretty raw and basic nature of the sound. The production screams nineties, but this is not to say that the sound is outdated by any means.
Most songs are downright infectious to experience, as the venom works its way through your ears into your brain, often with a somewhat doomy kind of feeling, and it’s with each successive song that this album impresses even more. What might seem to be quite simplistic and a bit by-the-numbers at first is starting to open up and offer a lot of small and interesting details. The guitar harmonies exude a grim and hypnotic atmosphere, and the chord progressions offer subtle yet well-timed variations of the main themes.
The rhythmic content is well structured and properly performed, and while overall there is a certain monotony inherent in this album, the songs are captivating and keep the listener interested over the whole playing time. The stomping groove is perfectly attuned to the soul-piercing melodies, with some neat interludes and more ambient sections rounding off the complete picture.
Like mentioned the mix is a bit rough, but this is not some kind of lo-fi garage production. The drums sound a bit triggered to my ears, but I am no expert. The guitars have a nice and powerful sound and overall there is enough clarity and transparency. The vocals are another highlight, with Ole belting out the lyrics about historical events in angry and classic fashion. What I really like about “Kompendium Historia de Revolution” is the great combination of icy and harsh grimness and the beautiful motifs, working as two different sides of the same coin. This kind of symbiosis is one of the main reasons why black metal is such a fascinating genre, and this album is another perfect example.

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