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RAGNELL "Rebirth in Darkness"
https://www.metal-archives.com/
Founded in 2011 Mexican blackened death metal commando Ragnell were able to snatch up a deal with More Hate productions for the release of their second full length “Rebirth in Darkness”. This album is another example of dark and disturbing music played with a lot of passion and enthusiasm. On the surface there is nothing really new to be found on “Rebirth in Darkness”. This is another one of those examples where a solid and pretty traditional death metal basis is enhanced by some black metal epics. The tremolo riffing attack with sinister grimness and are played with a lot of perfection. Each song has trademark chords that are hitting hard and that are presented with just enough variation to keep things fresh enough over the whole playing time. The star of the show might be the lead guitar work which is phenomenal in places with harmonies ranging from melancholic and hypnotic to epic and uplifting. I am always impressed when guitar playing is able to create a certain mood and this surely is the case here. One highlight for sure is the drumming with the man behind the kit having everything needed in his repertoire. Ultra-fast blasts and relentless fills are alternating with more groovy and laid-back sections. Depending on what a concrete moment asks for he is able to ramp up the intensity or slow things down and concentrate on the groove. The vocals are fierce and evil with the singers tone having a real recognition value. He is barking and growling and screaming like a dog of war ramping up the intensity of the album even more. It is not so easy to judge death/black metal vocals as they are most of the time mainly about sounding as aggressive and evil as possible but what I can say without hesitation is that his style is perfectly fitting the music. The production is clear and powerful with the new mastering having been carefully done to not hurt the raw and filthy atmosphere of the original material. All the instruments and other sound details have enough room to breathe making the musical journey the more enjoyable. Rounded off by a fantastic and dark looking cover artwork this album is a great piece of atmospheric yet pounding metal.
https://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/Ragnell/Rebirth_in_Darkness/779503/Edmund_Sackbauer/402292
RAGNELL "Rebirth in Darkness"
https://www.concreteweb.be/
If you are looking for some grandiose yet rude and nasty f*** u all stuff, a stiff middle finger in the arse of your saviour, a pitch-black sonic adventure that destroys any last ray of light, I can kindly ask you to give this Mexican trio a try. Or better: I do not kindly ask you to do so; I rather warn you or you are f*cked! Ragnell consist of bassist / vocalist Eduardo, vocalist / guitar player Mauricio, and drummer David (not from the original line-up, for what this information might be worth), and they did satisfy my sensitive eardrums with both former recordings, 2014-s EP Black Requiem and the full-length debut Consumed By The Eternal Darkness, also released in 2014. Below you can find the links to the absolutely fabulous reviews I did for both of them. Hell yeah! No, seriously, I hated it to notice that this band seemed to be disappeared from our beautiful planets soil, but then my friend Aleksey brought me the satisfying news: Ragnell are back with new stuff. All together: hurray, praise the Horned One (or whomever you want). Just like both former releases, this one sees the light – oops, no light here, so I will start all over… Here we go… Just like both former releases, this one gets released in total obscurity via Satanath Records, this time in a partnership with two other labels which I do appreciate a lot, The End Of Time Records and More Hate Productions. Besides a digital version, there is a ‘regular’ edition on compact disc, in a so-called jewel-case, including a very sober eight-page booklet (just the lyrics in a typical typology on a black background; the layout was done, by the way, by Satanath Recordss Aleksey), yet with fine cover artwork too, courtesy of May Kankava (Hellcatfairyart). The latter, FYI, in an edition of 500 copies. It would be too easy to call this band a "Blackened Death Metal" act, for this goes much further. Okay, the spine has a lot Death Metal going on, and there is a huge dose of blackened energy represented too. But Ragnell, well, they go beyond the limitations of the genre. And even more than before, truly intense Black Metal elements are used. I am not talking about quite some blackened screams (besides the extremely harsh, brutal growling grunts), but several passages are comparable to the elegance of the Nordic scene. Within those passages, the guitar sound especially reminds me of some Scandinavian Second Wave trend. Great it is! Yeah, compared to both former recordings, the sulphuric odour of the Underworld smells much more penetrating (and I can’t stop breathing in!). Another little difference with the past, I think, is the tempo. Okay, do not you dare to think that Rebirth In Darkness turns out to be a catchy record. No, most of the time, the compositions blast, crush, destroy. Merciless. Unstoppable. Vicious. A vile hybrid of eclectic lightning and pyroclastic eruption. This surely goes for the better part. But more than before, Ragnell slow down, injecting an increased number of doom-laden excerpts; the beauty of this story is that this gets done in such an organic manner. And more psychic beauty caresses my brain when noticing that these slower passages are at least as overwhelming and forceful as the energetic outbursts. Besides, it adds that abyssal dimension, that bleak atmosphere, that obfuscating spirit on top of the brute harshness. This too is much more extant compared to the past. The song writing is of a very high order. The band succeeds to stay true to the roots, using elements that characterise the tradition of Extreme Metal. But the addition of unique elements (a harmony choir here, an acoustic passage there) and the sublime sound quality (raw and still decently clean), along with the flawless execution, make this newest Ragnell release another highlight. And for what it is worth (yet since I am the reviewer, I can write whatever I want, haha), I think that Rebirth In Darkness is the best Ragnell recording to date. PS: as bonus, two pieces from Black Requiem have been added…
https://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/ragnell-1
RAGNELL "Rebirth in Darkness"
http://www.metalcrypt.com/
Mexican Black/Death horde Ragnell were founded in 2011, and their sophomore album Rebirth in Darkness shows them continuing their quest to purge the land of all things holy. Musically, you could call them a more blackened and stripped-down version of Vital Remains that does away with the epic elements and long solos, instead focusing on the fast-paced brutality whose relentless intensity will rip the soul straight from your body. The vocals have the expected croaks and grunts from both ends of the genres mixed, but they also add some twisted choirs that sound like the chants of Satanic monks, which really adds to the evil atmosphere of this album. Wrap all of that in a solid production job and you have an album that any fan of Black/Death can safely get sight unseen. Just be sure to toss away your crucifix if you want to survive the experience, because they sure as hell wont show any mercy otherwise!
http://www.metalcrypt.com/pages/review.php?revid=11789