This cryptic American Abstract Death/Doom Metal outfit will drag you further down the abyss to the sound of their anti-religious and blasphemous concept debut full-length monstrosity.
Coalesced around 2023, after Minneapolis, Minnesota’s own Death/Doom Metal beast Aberration completed their debut album, when three of its members, D.H. (Silurian, Suffering Hour) on vocals, J.H. (Annihilation Cult, Feral Light, Void Rot) on the guitars and bass, and E.C. (Annihilation Cult, Feral Light, Umbral Twilight) on drums and percussion, reconvened to continue creating together and to keep pushing their deviant ideas forward, American Abstract Death/Doom Metal outfit Ritual Ascension is unleashing upon us all their horrendous debut full-length monstrosity, Profanation of the Adamic Covenant. Recorded by Adam Tucker at Signaturetone Recording, mixed by D.H. at Black Dust Studios, mastered by Will Killingsworth at Dead Air Studios, and displaying a cryptic, grim artwork by Belial NecroArts, the album takes the masterful death-doom horror of early Temple Nightside and Grave Upheaval, and transfigures it further into the darkest abysses of surrealism.
The bells are tolling in the name of obscure music, opening the gates of the underworld to the gargantuan, venomous gnarls by D.H. in Womb Exegesis, a Blackened Doom aria where E.C. hammers his drums like a demonic entity. The same devilish aura from the opening track permeates the air in Pillars of Antecedence, even more sluggish and grim thanks to the slow and steady beats by E.C. while J.H. extracts minimalist yet visceral riffs from his axe, followed by Cursed Adamic Tongues, the shortest song of the album, and also the most punishing, violent one, with D.H. gnarling like a true demon while J.H. and E.C. build a beyond ruthless atmosphere. Then like the soundtrack to a black, sulfurous cult, the trio delivers the disturbing Consummation Rites, offering us all over ten minutes of apocalyptic passages, somber riffs, vile roars and endless despair; and last but definitely not least, Ritual Ascension will take us on a one-way trip to the netherworld in Kolob (At the Throne of Elohim), a massive wall of Doom and Death Metal masterfully crafted by the trio, spearheaded by the always caustic, austere riffs by J.H. armed with his venomous axe.
Not only the music by Ritual Ascension is harsh and disturbing, but Profanation of the Adamic Covenant is also an anti-religious, blasphemous, behemoth concept album dealing with some of the darkest and most sinister aspects in the history and theology of the so called Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as the Mormon Church), and shaped by direct experiences by some of the band members themselves within said religious movement as well, inviting the listeners to a wild, sinister musical journey while casting them further down the abyss, into a bottomless sepulcher of confusion and of complete chthonic torment. Having said all that, you can find more information about such a distinct trio of death and doom on Instagram, and purchase a copy of their caustic debut from the Sentient Ruin Laboratories’ BandCamp or webstore, feeding your inner demons with their chaotic music while you enjoy your eternal descent into the abyss.
Best moments of the album: Pillars of Antecedence and Kolob (At the Throne of Elohim).
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2025 Sentient Ruin Laboratories
Track listing
1. Womb Exegesis 9:02
2. Pillars of Antecedence 8:58
3. Cursed Adamic Tongues 5:24
4. Consummation Rites 10:52
5. Kolob (At the Throne of Elohim) 13:22
Band members
D.H. – vocals
J.H. – guitars, bass
E.C. – drums, percussion