(written by Islander)
The Eternal Death label bills the debut demo from NYC’s Absent Ritual as “outsider black metal”. But what does that mean? Isn’t all black metal “outsider” music at its core? Wasn’t that indeed what spawned it so many decades ago, as a rebellious reaction to death metal and other musical genres that were then captivating listeners?
Well, times do change, don’t they. You could make a claim that the bones of black metal have become ossified in some respects, to the point when many bands in the genre seem more conformist than they do rebellious. And so here in the current day, the description of Absent Ritual’s music as “outsider black metal” signifies that the band are following an unorthodox, idiosyncratic approach that isn’t hemmed in by strict genre boundaries, perhaps more true to the original animating spirit of the genre even though the music reveals surprising twists and embellishments.
You’ll understand what we mean when you listen to all three songs on their demo — The Cryptic Descent: A Compilation of Madness — which we’re now premiering in advance of its March 6 release date (a Bandcamp Friday, btw).
photos by KA-C SUNYATA ARTS
On the one hand, the slowly writhing riffage within “Darkness Divine”, the demo’s first song, is caustic and imperious, but it also rises up in a way that’s infernally glorious. On the other hand, while the vocals howl and scream like a pack of rabid lycanthropes, the drums amble along with nary a blast-beat to be found, and a prominently burbling bass presents another intriguing dimension.
On the third hand, the guitars ring out like strange spirits from a netherworld realm, piercing in tone and both psychedelic and proggy in their style. Those guitar leads make a striking impression as they spear and swirl.
Eventually, the drums do start blasting away, and the riffing itself begins to scream in displays of ecstatic dementia before the band return the song to a reprise of its opening as the vocalist seems to rip himself inside-out, insanely shrieking somewhere out on the bleeding edge of endurance — but with one more orgiastic display of madness and mayhem to close things out.
The second song, “Ruiner”, nearly reaches the 10-minute mark, and that’s because Absent Ritual wanted to plot an even more mind-altering trip through their unusual array of influences – while still scattering hooks of various kinds across their creepy path, as they did in “Darkness Divine”.
Quickly, a squalling and wailing guitar solo creates an atmosphere that’s otherworldly but also bereft in its mood, and the catastrophically shrieking vocals make things feel even more beyond the world we know. In that opening phase, Absent Ritual aren’t moving very fast, just following a slow and steady beat, but once again the sinister yet intriguing prominence of the burbling bass notes grabs attention almost as much as that unsettling melody and those ear-lacerating vocals.
As Absent Ritual continue following the strange path they’ve charted, the music becomes even more unsettling, even more horrifying, causing us to imagine we’ve crossed over into a realm of red-eyed wraiths that shiver, wail, and scream. The warmth of the meandering bass (which begins to seem a bit funky and a bit jazzy too) becomes something to hold onto in this chilling void, while the lead guitar brightly administers doses of hallucinogens and the drums allow your head to nod along while your mind is spinning.
It’s an experience that’s as fascinating in its many facets as it is crypt-born and nightmarishly apparitional, and that trilling lead guitar melody digs in deeper as it goes. Eventually, the drums do ramp up, and the music does too – with the guitars jubilantly swirling and cruelly slashing but also creating sensations of occult sorcery at work.
The final song, “A Savage Rage”, provides another twist. For one thing, it’s the demo’s shortest track, just a hair shy of four minutes. For another, the music wondrously shivers and shines, flickers and flashes, accompanied by throbbing rhythms and ghostly moans that seem to reverberate off gothic walls. Solemn and shrill organ chords add to the atmosphere of being within a derelict cathedral haunted by undead spirits, some of whom seem to be convulsing in pain or fury (or both).
And so yes, here in 2026 it’s more than fair to call this demo “outsider black metal” because it’s such an unusual and unexpected amalgam of stylistic ingredients. It’s decidedly spooky and surreal in almost all its aspects (indeed “cryptic” in both senses of the word), and the quirky juxtapositions between the rhythm section’s not-black-metal maneuvers and the morphing nightmares of everything else is ingenious. Moreover, each song is distinct in important ways from the others, which makes the demo even more enthralling.
Well, enough with the words. On you go to one of the most interesting black metal releases of the year so far:
Eternal Death will release The Cryptic Descent: A Compilation of Madness on cassette tape format, and digitally. Pre-order via the links below.
PRE-ORDER:
https://eternaldeath.bandcamp.com/album/the-cryptic-descent-a-compliation-of-madness
https://eternaldeath.storenvy.com/