THE RITUAL FIRES OF ABANDONMENT

The Ritual Fires Of Abandonment is, in my opinion, one of the better releases of this year from its respective musical camp. They play an atmospheric sludge (literally) that's oozing with psychedelic flavors and tribal themes. It's certainly the most psychedelic album I've heard from these guys and their peers which gives the music a new and interesting twist.

Minsk doesn't seem to like being tamed and sublte and it can be shown in their entire discography. These guys are so immense, not only because of its crunchy sludgy riffs, but because of the overall atmosphere present in the album. Their sound in the longer songs isn't completely dominated by guitars and that's a good thing since they only use them when their style demands it making these parts more special and appreciated. So lets look at it this way: this album won't kick you in the nads from the minute it starts, instead it lures you into the back of the building where there's a whole gang waiting to beat you up!, and with the album being quite psychedelic in nature then you can probably guess what was the lure made of... A perfect example of what I'm trying to say is the opener, "Embers". There's hazy, druggy mood throughout the album, but it never sounds empowering and it always comes second to their stormy atmosphere. The shorter songs are more delicate and only one of those songs is punchy and to the point. The drumming is mainly responsible for the tribal mood of the album, but the song which excels in this is "Ceremony Ek Stasis" which is the highlight of the album and also showcases some crazy saxophone lines that adds alot to the atmosphere of the song. The rest of the songs on this album share the same kind mood, they're most certainly heavy, sludgy and a bit more fast paced than other atmospheric sludge bands.

Like I already said, Minsk's sound is massive. They share more similarities in their sound with doom metal than the post-rock genre so don't expect any tear-jerking moments here or tender emotional guitar play. This is as heavy, menacing and bleak as any other sludge / doom metal band around with acid tranced moments to keep things interesting. If you're a fan of bands like Isis, Neurosis, Cult Of Luna and others in the similar vein then you'll enjoy Minsk's take on the genre.