There are wide ranging definitions as to what falls into the genre of Heavy Metal and Blood Of The Black Owl’s newest release, “A Banishing Ritual” can be defined as Black/ Doom Funeral Metal. If you’ve never heard of this band or don’t have a taste for eclectic nearly instrumental music, this is not for you. The album is more of a sound scape split into four “Movements” that, as its title suggests, sounds as if it is working to drive away evil or haunting spirits by way of an ancient tribal ritual. With the first “Movement” heavily built around what sounds like the toning and reverberations of a funeral bell, the track slowly gives way into an acoustic guitar medley followed by a mix of crashing cymbals, maracas, tambourines and then a tribal sounding flute. An eerie chant closes “Movement I” and then launches into a crawling electric guitar riff that carries the more Metal influence of the album and marks the start of “Movement II”.
Without sounding repetitive, the remaining two “Movements” continue on with haunting interludes, eerie chants, and tribal influences. A truly accurate description of this album would place it as the soundtrack to a horror or thriller film with its ability to conjure up haunting images for the listener and its eerie overall sound. If you like this style of Metal you will enjoy this album as it really does require a taste within a very specific niche. If you don’t then look elsewhere.