Release Date: March 4th 2022. Record Label: Rafchild Records. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl
Possessed In The Ritual Grove (Split) - Tracklisting
1.Cardinals Folly - Law And Enlightenment 06:42
2.Cardinals Folly - The Second Seal 03:23
3.Cardinals Folly - Prince Prospero 07:35
4.Purification - 1st John 2:18 (King James Version) 02:59
5.Purification - The Crowning Mercy 06:54
6.Purification - Six Horn Cult Of The Sword 05:07
7.Purification - Adrianople (Suicide Morning) 04:29
Cardinals Folly - Members
Mikko - 4 Strings & Doomed Preaching
Juho - 6 Strings of Nordic Wrath
Joni - Battery & Brutality
Purification - Members
Grand Field Marshall William Purify
Count Darragh.
The Resurrected Lord Donangato provided moral and spiritual support through these trying days, but does not play on this recording.
Review
Possessed In The Ritual Grove is a split album featuring legendary Finnish Doom Metal Legends Cardinals Folly and rising USA Doom Metallers Purification and it’s an album that perfectly shows what both bands bring to the Doom Metal genre whilst still bringing their own individual sound to the record.
Cardinals Folly offers three tracks running for around 19 minutes in length and Purification with four tracks clocking in at 20 minutes. Cardinals Folly are masters of the European Doom Metal Scene and they’re at their gloomy best with tracks that span the Heavy Metal and Classic Doom atmosphere especially on their opening track Law And Enlightenment.
The opening track is what Cardinals Folly do best by blending vintage sounding Doom Metal with a cool modern Heavy Metal sensibility and with a fast-paced approach. The vocals are OTT but with a menacing style when the heavier growls appear. The clean vocals are excellent with the band offering plenty of terrific guitar work along the way.
The other two songs from Cardinals Folly offer more great gloomy ideas and sounds especially on the stunning second song The Second Seal. The swirling psychedelics are a great touch and this has a Post-Doom flavour with the band playing a more restricted style of music that they’re mostly known for.
Their final song Prince Prospero is the standout track from the band firing on all DOOM METAL CYLINDERS for an aggressive style of Heavy Metal and Doom Metal that has the right amount of modern day Doom Metal attitude whilst paying respects to the classic grooves and sounds that was laid down over the last 50 years or so. The song is one of the best offerings the band have written in some time.
Now it’s Purification’s chance to impress listeners with their style of Occult based Doom Metal. I will admit this is my first time listening to the band and I’m mightily impressed. Their music is a mixture of Doom Metal, Occult Metal and NWOBHM that allows the band to be more aggressive in the volume department.
Their standout tracks for myself personally are The Crowning Mercy and Six Horn Cult Of The Sword. As they are fantastic showcases of what Purification is all about. With both classic and modern day Doom Metal and Heavy Metal riffs matched against hard-hitting lyrics. Their overall sound is quite distorted in places compared to Cardinals Folly and I may have enjoyed their part of the album a little bit more.
However, this release works so well is down to the bleak surroundings both bands adverse themselves in with their individual sets of songs that allows Possessed In The Ritual Grove to be one of the best split album releases seen in the Doom Metal field for quite some time.
This could end up being considered one of 2022’s Doom Metal Best Split Records Of The Year. It’s a seriously outstanding release that will keep the Legion Of Doom Metal fans happy and excited for a long time to come.
This is true DOOM METAL at its very best. You dig.
Awesome stuff…
Words by Steve Howe
Cardinals Folly Links
Purification Links
