Review SACRED STEEL “Ritual Supremacy”

Sacred Steel is one of the most renowned metal institutions from Germany. It was back in 1996 in the south of Germany when the band was founded with a debut album that saw the light of day in 1997. Since then, Sacred Steel have released a number of longplayers, the latest of which was presented in 2016.

The fans had to wait an unexpectedly long time before they could welcome a new album from the Swabian metal force. Now the wait is over as the band has a new release in the starting blocks. Driven by founding member Mathias Straub and Gerrit P. Mutz, the band unleashes their new effort called “Ritual Supremacy” and after listening to the album a few times, we can say that it was worth the wait.

The starting point for this new metal adventure is the title track. Traditional heavy metal resonates in every note. It is a mid-tempo metal anthem that blows out of the speakers; a headbanger’s delight. The pounding “Leather, Spikes and Chains” is next and the target audience for this album couldn’t be better described. It is metal for the denim and leather fan base. Equipped with cleverly integrated tempo breaks the song is a great piece of heavy metal.

“The Watcher Infernal” shows the atmospheric sound of Sacred Steel with Gerrit P. Mutz delivering an excellent vocal performance. He can handle the loud and roaring parts as well as he can give a lot of feeling to his singing.

Another highlight of the album is the slower paced “Bedlam Eternal”. The song is an ode to doom metal. It is a snail-paced, Candlemas-inspired riff attack that comes with the same intensity as the other crushing songs on the album and shows the band’s versatile approach to metal. The contrast to “Demon Witch Possession” couldn’t be bigger, as the latter is a furious metal track with the band shifting gears.

We are closer to the end of the album, which features another atmospheric metal song named “Omen Rider”. Some Maiden references are included as well as links to the German metal of the 80s. It is a pounding tune that leads you to “Let Blackness Come to Me” which is the last track on the album and it starts off softly. “Let Blackness Come to Me” is the soulful moment of an album that represents the passion and power of traditional heavy metal.

“Ritual Supremacy” is the glorious return of a German metal institution that took nine years to create the new album. In this time the guys have created excellent metal songs that show the range of possibilities when it comes to this genre. Old school, but not old fashioned; that’s “Ritual Supremacy” from start to finish. Headbanging is one of the obligations when listening to these ten songs, so better train your neck muscles.