Blackened Sludge Metal
M-Theory Audio
October 21st 2022
Line Up:
Riku -Vocals
Toni – Guitar/Backing Vocals
Pete – Bass/Backing Vocals
Jukka – Drums
Tracklist:
1 – Earthbound
2 – Ghosts Of The Dead
3 – Conjuration
4 – Law Of Nature
5 – 13th Moon
6 – Phoenix Ascending
7 – Bleed Your Soul
8 – Queen Of The Underworld
9 – Bear Cult
10 – Barren Land
11 – Rite Of Passage
Black Royal is a new name to me, and this is their 3rd full-length album. They’ve released a couple of EPs too since their formation in Finland in 2013. They have been described as a combination of roaring death metal with a Motorhead groove. Sounds good to me.
Opening with the heavy title track, doomy death metal just to get you warmed up before ‘Ghosts Of The Dead’ takes it up a notch with a massive groove then ‘Conjuration’ gets heavier with a chugging beast which is continued ‘Law Of Nature’. ‘13th Moon’ is the perfect mix of Motorhead and Entombed – this one rocks like a bastard before the prog intro of ‘Phoenix Ascending’ which blasts into a raging beast. Things get doomier with ‘Bleed Your Soul’, the demonic ‘Queen Of The Underworld’ and ‘Bear Cult’ which where shift gears in an instant. We get some huge stoner on ‘Barren Land’ before ‘Rite Of Passage’ takes on a sludge ride with some subtle keys filling the background.
This is the business. Excellent riffage and guitar work in general from Toni – nothing flashy just good honest lines all backed up by a masculine rhythm section. If you like it heavy down and dirty with loads of riffs and pounding drums, then this is definitely for you.
Score: 9/10
Reviewed by: Smudge
About Author
- Heavy
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