Mutilation Rites - Empyrean
Prosthetic Records
US Black Metal
6 songs (35:33)
Release year: 2012
Prosthetic Records
Reviewed by Koeppe
Surprise of the month

After two years of releasing several demos, splits and EPs, Mutilation Rites finally releases their debut LP, displaying on it a very eclectic form of black metal. They aren’t going to bore you like some might say Krallice or Ash Borer might with progressive twenty minute epics. That’s because Rites sets a fast tempo; they’re doing black metal, with hints of death, thrash, doom and crust all in the mix. The band might be DIY and punk in spirit and appearance, but in terms of music; it’s black metal plain and simple. With members who have done stints with Today is the Day and Tombs, playing music with intensity that refuses to be cordoned off into a single genre comes naturally to the group. No interludes, no samples, just raw straightforward black metal that sounds more like an elaborated Dissection rather than a hippie commune Ulver.

What stands out on Empyrean is the guitar work. Every style of riff seems to be on display at some point on the album, but most often they play rapid tremolos that have such a catchy melody that one can’t help but be reminded of Dissection. Rather than utilizing the stiff riffs that are so prevalent in French black metal for dissonance, Rites comes out of the gate with A Season of Grey Rain bending those riffs to create something that is simply majestic. The band is incredibly apt at incorporating different elements without ever letting the seams show in the patchwork. Each song is packed with so many elements while never seeming to dawdle or bore the listener. Fog Warning opens with a chord progression that is reminiscent of early Norwegian black metal a la Ulver, before speeding up to a death metal pace after a minute that is reminiscent of Wolves In the Throne Room’s demo, due to the furious drumming and intricate riffing. Dead Years starts with a groovy, thrash riff before opening up into a Cascadian-inspired soundscape, while never losing that initial groove that wouldn’t be expected against such a backdrop. The pace slows to a crawl, only to be picked up with hearty blastbeats and punky growls. Closing the album, Broken Axis features another side of the band; this time closing the album out with a two minute drone that provides the album a way of easing you out of the prior thirty minutes of intensity.

USBM has become a catch-all term for the various styles of black metal originating from the United States. Many folks might ignore them simply based on such a label, but what Mutilation Rites shows on Empyrean is how diverse USBM is, by not only adding their own DIY punk edge to the classic atmospheric black metal sound of a band like Leviathan, but by showing how the sound of black metal can be intertwined with elements from other genres. Purists might not love it, but those with the desire to headbang should definitely look into this. And it’s not often that a black metal album incites furious headbanging like this album.

For those interested, an album stream can be found here, courtesy of Pitchfork.

Killing Songs :
A Season of Grey Rain, Ancient Bloodbath, Fogwarning, Realms of Dementia
Koeppe quoted 87 / 100
Other albums by Mutilation Rites that we have reviewed:
Mutilation Rites - Chasm reviewed by Andy and quoted 81 / 100
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