Noble Jewelcase Edition with 8-Page booklet and Gold-Pantone print. Comes with poster
In 2018 the world witnessed the reincarnation of the infamous 'Buckriders', various gangs of vile robbers who terrorized the borderlands of Belgium, Germany and The Netherlands in the late 18th century.
Led by their menacing captain, they sold their souls to the Devil, rode by night on the backs of flying goats and mercilessly pillaged and burned the houses of god-fearing Christians across the dim and bleak marshlands…
The unholy Belgian three piece known as Rituals Of The Dead Hand, fully embraced this piece of dark folklore and translated it into a relentless attack of old school death/black metal on their debut 'Blood Oath', an album hailed by critics and fans alike. Now, three years later, the shadows are moving again…
On their second offering 'With Hoof And Horn', Rituals Of The Dead Hand walks the same path of no-nonsense, old school extreme metal updated in a modern and contemporary atmosphere. Again, the four lengthy tracks dive into the legends, myths and tales of the notorious robbers who were ultimately caught, tortured, trialed and executed for their horrific and blasphemous acts…
Truth or legend? Simple folklore or further proof that the Devil is always lurking in the dark, especially behind man's most sacrilegious deeds? Whatever your answer is, with 'With Hoof And Horn', the Buckriders will ride again!
Fans of Burzum, The Ruins Of Beverast, Bolt Thrower and Urfaust will not be dissapointed.
Black/doom metal is a combination I have started to appreciate more and more over the past few years. While at first I had some troubles to get over the concept at one point it clicked with me and since then I have enjoyed quite a few albums of that particular combined style. One album that surely had a positive impact on me is “Blood Oath” by the Belgium outfit Rituals of the Dead Hand. These lads just have a great talent of melting classic blackened melodies with the monolithic grandeur of old school doom metal and use some dark lore as basis for their lyrical platform. Now the Buckriders are back with their second full length “With Hoof and Horn” and continue to spread fear among the people of the marshlands.
Consisting of four tracks (plus intro) and a playing time of nearly 44 minutes this album is once again a piece of art which needs a bit time to be consumed and to fully unfold its fascination. After the intro sequence the first track “Sulphur” opens up with a fantastic harmony reminiscent of classic second wave stuff, but played in slower yet highly intense style. This trademark melody keeps appearing over the nearly ten minutes, with some adoptions in the second part of the song. Elements like ritualistic chants help further enhancing this deep and sinister atmosphere. In the middle we got a more minimalistic piece, akin to traditional doom with the lead melody being toned down and the monotonous rhythm and the barking vocals dominating.
The music of Rituals of the Dead Hand is the sonic equivalent of looming storm clouds, shadowy and oppressive with just the odd hint of sunlight through the darkness. The second song “Inception” starts faster and has more of a classic black metal tremolo dominated track, while the next one painfully slow stumble along an ill-light path, with a manic middle section which pushes the rhythm section a bit more. Of the main reasons for the band’s success is their ability to seamlessly combine those various tempo and rhythm changes. Pure doom as well as funeral doom can get a bit tiresome as the genre boundaries are pretty strict, but by adding those faster and blackish pieces Rituals of the Dead Hand have found a perfect way to keep the listener on his toes throughout the whole album.
Diversity is one of the core strengths of this sub-genre and this band especially. In the last track “Vuurstaeck” they throw everything into the ring they got. This cut rounds things off, and at over 12 minutes this is an epic offering, maybe coming with an even more controlled, more disciplined approach than its predecessors, which winds itself ever onwards to a frenetic climax. Words like anguish and pain come to my mind while this creepy piece of music is spinning, but in this context this should be seen as a positive. Rituals of the Dead Hand are absolutely passionate about their music, as every moment of “With Hoof and Horn” feels perfectly planned and executed. The production is amazing, crushing and powerful and very transparent. Add a fantastic cover artwork kept in black/white with golden letters and we got one of the highlights of the year. This is pure class.
Sample:
Official promo video:
