Oniricous - Ritos Diabolicos download free

As I am a big fan of anything even vaguely Lovecraftian, I'm am always on the lookout for bands who go down that route. Usually bands who go down the H.P. road are of the doom and drone ilk, so when you get it in death metal format, it's a fucking treat. So along come Oniricous with their sophomore offering, Ritos Diabolocus. Having heard the band's first album while they were still named Ghül, I really wasn't expecting to be blown away, so this was a great surprise. The intro to the album is very hypnotic and enjoyable, setting that kind of quiet atmosphere you'd hope for before launching into the heavy. Then as soon as it ends you're launched into El Amuleto, which opens up with crushing momentum. Immediately you hear your first sample of the catchy-as-fuck riffs this album is saturated in. Being a vocals snob, I must say I was very pleased with the delivery. I don't know what it is, but guttural Español is just brilliant to listen to.Astrofobos, the next track, is possibly my favourite song on the album. It has a dramatic change in tempo that is just commanding you to give yourself whiplash, not to mention the excellent solo that carries you out. If it's one thing more modern death metal bands need, it's more solos. Astrofobos leads us into Reanimador, which follows a similar formula of great riffage, tempo change, and solo. As a matter of fact, there is very little deviation from this formula on a lot of the songs here and in most cases that would be considered a no no from me, but here they add enough of an individual touch to each song that it manages to stay enjoyable, unlike so many other albums that just sound like a 55 minute opening track. Drumming-wise, I'd say the work here is fairly standard of this style of death metal, but I hardly mean that in a bad way as it's quite far generic. Everything compliments each other perfectly on this album, which is something I find fairly rare in this day and age where you'll find bands seem to follow a pattern of "great drummer, shit guitarist" or "great guitarist, crap everything else". Sure, the guitar work presented is excellent in my opinion, but it doesn't overshadow everything else. This album stays consistently heavy, catchy, and crushing the entire way through, ending with a brief touch of the atmosphere you started with. All in all, this is a great ten track (excluding the intro) album, which is well worth the time of anyone who fancies themselves an old school death metal buff. There's a definite At The Gates influence in here along with a touch of Immolation and Massacre. Tracks of choice: Astrofobos, La Sombra Exterior, Atrapado En Un Mundo Onirico, and El Terror Supremo.- AndreisReaper, June 26th, 2013