RITUAL

I was surprised. I heard a lot about the swedish band "Ritual". Some people said that they play good progressive rock with folk elements. Others said that it is nothing but normal Hard Rock with some folk influences. Well, I think it's a blend of both. I really tried to get into their music. Listened to the album several times but something is still missing. Their style, sounding innovative and interesting in the beginning gets kind of boring after a few songs. Firt you think that it's a good idea to have a mandolin, a bouzouki or other folkish instruments but after some songs, it's nothing special and the sound repeats itself, nothing you really want to hear over and over again. Some songs really sound like normal Hard Rock, with the exception of the unsual instruments used. These instruments really enrich the sound, without this enrichment, I would have given even less stars. Maybe It's not the perfect band for my tastes and maybe my adjudgement is guilty of being too subjective but I'm really not willing to give more stars because Ritual's debut doesn't convince me. For sure these guys know how to play and you can find some nice melodies but the general sound repeats itself and the overall picture is kind of boring and far from being diversified.