ALBUM REVIEW: Rituals Of Mass Self-Ignition – Ominous Scriptures

When you think of brutal death metal the small eastern European country of Belarus is not one of the first places that springs to mind. However, OMINOUS SCRIPTURES are looking to change that. Since their formation back in 2013 the band have set about carving their niche in the extreme metal scene and with their third full-length effort Rituals Of Mass Self-Ignition they are looking to take their place among the heavyweights of the scene.

If there was any question regarding the kind of album this was going to be, then within the first ten seconds of Demonic Totem I Am they are answered beyond dispute. The pummelling drums and harmonised tremolo guitars give way to an old school death metal riff and low-pitched growl vocals, ticking all the boxes that long-standing fans of the band will want to hear. The title track Rituals Of Mass Self-Ignition then picks up the baton and runs with it, picking up the bass and sonically beating the listener over the head with a much higher velocity than its predecessor. The machine gun drumming of Alex Navitski is something to be marvelled at, with the rest of the musicians dialling in to the ever-shifting beats with surgical precision.

Fanning The Flames is one of the album’s many highlights. The powerful vocals of Pawel Nalecki roar over the top of the chugging, intricate guitars of Pavel Lapkouski and Siarhei Liakh. Despite the ferocity and rawness of the music, not a single ounce of clarity has been lost in the mix and everything gets its appropriate opportunity to shine, never nullifying one thing for another.

One of the most enticing elements of OMINOUS SCRIPTURES‘ sound is their penchant for writing infectious old school death metal riffs and laying them over the top of frantic, intense drums. Songs such as Serpentine Wisdom and Mangled Perception boast more memorable riffs within their combined seven-or-so minutes than many bands in the brutal death metal scene can conjure in the entirety of an album.

The band save one of the finest tracks for the very last in the form of Codex Rescriptus. The slower, heavily muted riffs contrast perfectly once again with the high-speed double bass of Navitski. This is the kind of instrumental that was written for listeners to headbang along to and the groove that they have somehow managed to inject into the violent onslaught is something to be admired. The relentless battery that has been dealt out over this album, complete with the seemingly never-ending supply of riffs that are poured out over the eight tracks show a band that are nowhere near running out of steam and frankly if the boys are hitting this kind of form at this stage of their career, then the sky really could be the limit for the Belarusians.

It appears that OMINOUS SCRIPTURES have found their creative groove with Rituals Of Mass Self-Ignition. The entire release oozes confidence and the kind of swagger that most bands get into far later in their careers. This is the sound of a band that are firing on all cylinders and creating raw, powerful death metal that owes as much to the great bands of the past as it does to the modern, ever-shifting tidal wave of modern extreme music. With this album the band have taken a massive leap forward in their aim of taking their sound global and Rituals Of Mass Self-Ignition is a superb key with which to open the door to a much wider audience the world over.

Rating: 8/10

Rituals Of Mass Self-Ignition is set for release on January 27th via Willowtip Records.

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