Metal’s busiest musician, Cederick
Forsberg, is back with the 5th Rocka Rollas release in as many
years. Despite being a relatively straight forward speed metal band, their
sound has changed quite a bit over the years. From the very raw debut, to the
more refined “Conquer” and “Metal Strikes Back”, the band unleashed an unhinged
sound that left nothing back on “The Road To Destruction”. This change was
largely driven by Ced taking over on vocals, as his singing is wild and off the
wall. “Pagan Ritual” shows Ced continuing to sing, but another change for the
band. Now Rocka Rollas is beginning to incorporate some more epic sounds into
their music. This had been hinted at in the past with songs like “Conquer” and
“Swords Raised In Victory”, but is now more developed on “Pagan Ritual”.
The first example of this epic style is the
song lengths and structure. Most tracks on this album reach or exceed 5
minutes, and are not the standard verse/chorus. The songs still have choruses,
but they aren’t as predictable as you might expect from the band’s previous
work. Another way the band tries to be more epic is through clean interludes
and unique, almost Celtic melodies (“Gaulic Boare” pulls off both at the same
time). The shredding solos that once
dominated the band’s sound have been dialed back, both in intensity and
frequency. They’re still there, but you certainly won’t hear a song with 4
solos in a row on “Pagan Ritual”.
It would be an exaggeration to say that
this change is a drastic one. Rocka Rollas is still focused around killer
melodies and riffs. “The Punic Wars”, as one example, has a harmonized lead
towards the end of the track that can contend with anything Maiden has done.
“Lost In An Enchanted Forest” is the song with the best guitar acrobatics, as
Ced and second guitar player Emil unleash some furious fretwork. There is a
melody in the second half of the song that is reminiscent of Autopsy’s “Thorns
and Ashes”, which later bursts into a tremolo-picked version of the same melody
that is far more potent.
The less structured approach to songwriting
means that this is the least memorable Rocka Rollas record. There are still
obvious hits: “Viking Lord” will be stuck in your head for days from even just
a single listen. The opening of “Pagan Ritual” manages to make drums catchy
using just a crash/china cymbal. These are just two examples, but there are
quite a few on this record. Overall though, not every song manages to make an
impact immediately. Or even after numerous listens for that matter. This isn’t
to say these songs are bad; in fact, they sound pretty much like the others.
They just lack those big choruses that are easy to grasp. “Demigod”, for
example, remains a mystery to me after 10 or so spins.
On the whole, “Pagan Ritual” is still the most
interesting Rocka Rollas album to date. For a band that puts something out
every single year, they manage to switch up the formula often enough that it
never gets boring. This album is also a major step forward in making Rocka Rollas
a distinct project from another band of Ced’s, Breitenhold. It may seem like I’m
being overly harsh, but this is just the result of holding Rocka Rollas to an
absurdly high standard. This album is fantastic and crushes most other speed
metal bands, but it is the weakest Rocka Rollas album to date aside from the
debut.
Highlights
"The Punic Wars"
"Pagan Ritual"
"Viking Lord"
Final Rating
4.5/5 or 90%.
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