Melodic Death Metal became a genre with different faces, with the Gothenburg sound, the ones who made a bridge for metalcore influences, the ones who think it is an invention to use clean vocals in the chorus (some are tolerable, but fuckin’ hell, some just don’t have a good clean voice, just don’t do it for the sake of it) and the list goes on…
Rituals grabbed the era after the Gothenburg sound, after acts like A Canorous Quintet and Gates of Ishtar, but without the –core influences and clean vocals. On “Slaves to the Tyrants” you will hear a slight Arch Enemy influence while on “The Eighth Door” you can hear At The Gates hints, after their resurrection. And the main focus is more mid-tempo and groove than the fast riffs.
So modern, but not too modern melodic Death Metal, of which I think there is still a market for it. (Ricardo)
