First album for Ritual Fog.
After a split with Pissrot in 2022, the band comprising Ian Younkin (guitar/vocals, Autolith, Excavate), Spencer Martin (guitar, Excavate, ex-Dawn Patrol), Andrew Hobday (drums, Excavate) and Jon Clark (bass) sign to Transcending Obscurity Records, with whom they release But Merely Flesh, illustrated by Juanjo Castellano (Anal Vomit, Avulsed, Darkened, Gates of Ishtar, Paganizer, Revel in Flesh…).
We start with Misticism and its keyboards straight out of 60s horror movies, but Desolate Chasm quickly reverts to thick putrid Death Metal. It takes a while for the drums to ignite, bringing in rough vocal parts with Old School touches as the rhythmics stomp continuously, then it’s on to Slimeblade that the band continues to roll over us. The ominous leads are perfectly integrated with the devastating riffs, as are the furious accelerations, but Nocturnal Suffering occasionally slows things down while maintaining the omnipresent feeling of oppression. The track remains fairly well-paced, alternating martial phases with heavy moments, eventually letting Demented Procession take its place to develop a rather similar approach, while letting Death/Doom touches haunt the final. Fog Sermon follows with a very heavy jerky sound, accelerating as the singer shouts out the track’s name, the only vocal intervention on the track. It remains very catchy and eventually fades out slowly before Carnal Pain takes its place with a much more energetic rhythm, which is eventually replaced by hypnotic tones halfway through the track, before the musicians go wild again with Sentient Chamber, alternating waves of ardour and short moments of calm. There are also a few ominous tones before the final explosion, then it’s with the brutal groove and obvious savagery of But Merely Flesh, the eponymous track, that the album comes to an end, not without a horrific solo.
But Merely Flesh‘s main flaw is quite simple: it’s short. But it allows the musicians of Ritual Fog to unleash their full power without compromise or delay, making this short half-hour a veritable blast.
90/100