DEATHLESS LEGACY – Rituals Of Black Magic

Horror and Heavy Metal, the chocolate and peanut butter of the musical world. Two great tastes that can taste great together or become a sticky, cloying mess if either is laid on with too much abundance. Fortunately, Deathless Legacy find a pleasing mix with their fourth release Rituals Of Black Magic. Horror Metal incorporates a wide range of styles and sounds, but the general approach is either a campy, tongue-in-cheek level of macabre or a grim, “we’re totally serious” attitude meant to convince the audience they’re listening to actual murderers and emissaries of evil. Deathless Legacy, with their OTT costumes, song titles, and stage personas have spent much of their career in the former category, but on Rituals, their first concept album, they manage to inject another level of menace. Ominous arrangements, Addams family-esque keyboards and exchanges of clean and extreme female vocals punctuated by slick guitar runs and a solid rhythm section make Rituals an intoxicating cauldron of fright.

They are at their best when the keyboards are thick and atmospheric, soaring over the top or twinkling underneath an all-out assault from the rest of the band, such as on the title cut, “Bloodbath”, and “Ars Goetia”. They’re less convincing on tunes where there is less of a musical counterpoint; it’s like moving from an early Roger Corman film to one by Mario Bava; where a lush, spooky atmosphere permeates but you can still occasionally see the zipper running down the monster’s back. Most Horror—and Metal—fans won’t mind, because there’s plenty of good thrills in the material. They close the show strong with “Dominus Inferi”, a climbing, epic track worthy of serving as the album’s end credits.

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