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Sunday, November 27, 2011

Solothus - Ritual of The Horned Skull Demo (2011)


Band: Solothus
Country: Turku, Finland
Style: Death/Doom Metal
Label: Independent

When a band happens to send and/or tell me about a demo, I'm always a bit weary about it. Demos aren't the best introduction to bands, in my experience anyway, since they tend to present the band in their most unoriginal state. However, I'll say right now that I was very impressed when I was sent this.
I've said it a lot in the past that I love old-school death metal, the sound of it anyway, and I'm more likely to become a fan of a band that adhires to those sorts of standards. Raw and grimey production, heavy and grooving riffs, and interesting growls, whether they happen to be growled, screamed, or gurgled is irrelevant, but that's what I like. When Solothus sent me an email telling me about how they had just released this demo, I listened to a song from their Myspace page and was instantly a fan of what I heard. In my mind this is a great take on old-school death/doom ala Paradise Lost meets Amorphis or Sentenced with obvious nods to Candlemass. These three songs are very well crafted and provide plenty of the energy, that a young band should have by the way, to just make you want to headbang to opener Throne of Bones. The other two songs, focus more on the doomy side of the band with slow grooves and drawn-out melodies. As a complete package, it's a great slab of death/doom that is sure to win them over a lot of fans.
When it comes to death/doom, it's great that a new band can actually manage to top a lot of their elders in songwriting. These guys are very talented and I look forward to hearing more material from them in the future. Definitely check this band out, it's easily one of the best demos I've heard all year, if not the best.
Overall Score: 6
Highlights: Darkness Gathers Here At Night

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