“We were the first to be given His grace“…
In a scene more and more corrupted by false prophets and plastic appearances, few bands still manage to hold high the bloody banner of real darkness and hate. One of these bands is Destruction Ritual, a “new” band out there if we judge by its date of birth, but an old one, if we judge by the musicians it hosts. Besides Arafel, an American guitarist, we have TerrorReign (Impure Ziggurat, Necroblood) on bass guitar and the mighty MkM (Antaeus, Aosoth) on vocals. Session drummer on this release is Blastum, a well known musician in the French underground, who’s played over the years in many black metal bands like Merrimack, VI, Aosoth, Ritualization or Antaeus. With such a line up, one might easily guess what kind of music to expect from these fine gentlemen.
“Providence” is the band’s first full length album and it has been released on the 12th of September by the notorious French label EAL and is currently distributed worldwide by NoEvDia.
The 6 songs on “Providence” follow more or less on the same path as the band’s debut material, the excellent S/T demo released 4 years prior. In 43 minutes time we get a furious dose of black metal frenzy mixed up with slow, atmospheric parts and bitter melancholy that transmute organically into sonic nightmares which slowly drag you down as the tracks flow by. As they have already done on the demo, the band has used again well picked dialogues from disturbing movies (ex from “The Other Lamb” or from “Stopmotion“), which, together with MkM‘s excellent lyrics, reinforce even more that desolate feeling of madness and alienation.
Speaking about the lyrics, it shouldn’t come as a surprise for those who have followed MkMs musical activity that he is one of black metal’s finest lyricist. His words, which he has also lent to other bands in the past (remember “Puzzles ov Flesh” or “From Under to Below“?), have always been the weapons he has used to express the contempt, disgust and hostility towards anything holy or “nice”. The lyrics on Providence make no exception, and it would be great if you’d make an effort to read (or decipher) them to interpret their “cryptic” meanings.
“A dream to end all dreams. Death does not shorten distances, it makes repair impossible.”
What really makes this album memorable, besides the music and the lyrics, is the claustrophobic atmosphere, mainly derived from MkM‘s guttural vocals which sound even more tormented and suffocating than ever. The vocals seem to be a little lower in the mix, which allows them to sound even more disturbing and menacing, a perfect companion for those who look for black metal anguish.
Blastum‘s drums pound their way relentlessy from the very first notes of the opening song, as if they want to imprint themselves deep down into your brains even after the music has stopped. But don’t get fooled, Providence is not only about sonic chaos and destructive rhythms…the band also knows when to slow down and create an oppressive atmosphere, as it can be heard so well on the 3rd track, “Gone Days of Splendor“. These slower tempos and the haunting guitar solos emerge when you expect them the least, enhancing even more the dichotomy between the impenetrable darkness and the melodic beauty. The more I listen to Providence, the more I realize that this album is in fact a compendium of contradictions between tormenting soundscapes and doomed melancholy, between sanity and insanity and between unrelented aggression and a twisted, yet beautiful melody.
I cannot conclude this review without mentioning Benjamin Vierling‘s disturbing yet beautiful album cover, which perfectly captures in such fine details the descent into madness of the main character from Possession, admirably played by Isabelle Adjani . In fact, there are several obvious links between Destruction Ritual’s music and this cult movie on both their releases, it’s only up to you to discover them.
Even if this is is the band’s first full length, Providence is to me one of the highlights of this year and one of the most devastating black metal albums I’ve had the pleasure of listening to. For some this may be that kind of album that you either love or hate, but for me this is and will be the “go to” record when in need of real, dangerous and disturbing black metal. Go check it out if you haven’t done it yet, otherwise you’ll miss out on a great piece of work, one of the best of 2025.
“So this is it. Everything led us her to this point.
Everything ends. The passion, the hatred of the early days…
Only the bitter taste does not change. Not only death can separate us, but nothingness.
I don’t belong here. I don’t belong now. I don’t belong tomorrow.“
Destruction Ritual – Providence track list:
1. Providence
2. Pride & Corrupted Dreams
3. Gone Days of Splendour
4. Decaying Mask of Remorse
5. Washed Away Sins
6. Closure
Band contact:
scrollsofdarmoth.com 
Leave a comment