Torture Tunes
Kill Ritual
All Men Shall Fall
Welcome to the fourth album by serial slayers Kill Ritual, and the second with master vocalist David Reed Watson.
There is much to say about the well oiled machine that is Kill Ritual: powerful pipes from Mr. Watson; blistering, radical rhythms, solos, and bass by Steven Rice; and fierce drumming by Matt Thomson of King Diamond. All for your listening and moshing pleasure.
We begin with “Tales of Woe”, a short intro with keys and a macabre like narration. This leads into the musical madness of “This Addiction” and its infectious thrash vibe. All Men Shall Fall drives with a more metal groove.
“Megalomaniac” starts off as manic as its definition. The strange guitar effects during the chorus give the feeling of being spun around on a frantic merry-go-round! The bass sounds like it’s tuned to minus E flat. I can feel the strings flopping about like fish out of water.
The tempo and vibe slow down a bit for “Save Yourself”. A mellow tune, the vocals are the most powerful instrument on this cut. “A Reimagining” teases with a soft, melodic intro and then launches into chaotic cacophony breaking down on the bridge and building back up to the lunacy.
Surprisingly, “Dead Man on the Water” is acoustically driven. Different from the rest, it stands out and reminds me of Act III by Death Angel - especially the way they use acoustics with thrash. Then there’s the panic attack of “Heart Collector” structured right out of the Heavy Metal Handbook of Songwriting (©1986.)
Getting back to the heavier side, “Sin” and “Lies” speed things up to the recognizable thrash tones and pinched harmonics we like from Kill Ritual. The vocals on “Lies” are borderline black metal style; Watson never ceases to push the envelope.
Kill Ritual
All Men Shall Fall
(Scarlet Records)
Written by: Tim Duran
10 out of 10
Kill Ritual’s fourth album leaves us with a mid tempo ditty so we can catch our breath. “Kage” is moody, dark, and I wish it was longer. I found myself hoping for another solo as the song came to its end. Oh well, maybe when they play it live they’ll do a “Free Bird” type ending.
All Men Shall Fall is the most diverse record from Kill Ritual and when I mentioned that to Steven Rice, he wrote back and said, “That was the goal”. If you’ve followed Kill Ritual, you know how they can thrash and roll. Here, they show the flip side of that while still keeping things interesting and heavy. With superb songwriting and one roller coaster of a ride, I give it a ten purely on the fact that they’re not putting themselves in a box, and they choose to make quality music every time.
Tim Duran, HMS
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