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Third album from French maniacs Temple of Baal, and while their earlier efforts were raw-styled Black Metal with a kick of Thrash, Lightslaying Rituals is definitely a Death Metal album. Four years after the feral wrath of Traitors to Mankind, the band has stepped unmistakably over the line onto Death, while keeping their raw feel and attitude somewhat intact.

Lightslaying Rituals is the longest Temple of Baal album ever – much longer than the thirty-odd minutes of their other two discs – and is packed with enough slashing, ripping riffs to keep your fist in the air the whole time. Here and there this normally high-speed band actually slows down for some punchier sections, as on the brass-knuckled "Dead Cult", but mostly this is full speed ahead. The production is slicker and thicker this time out, with a big guitar sound and very Death Metal styled drums. Their pummeling riff approach is intact, but this time downtuned at least a step to produce a sound much more akin to Belphegor or Razor of Occam. I like this disc, and it kicks ass, but it does sound a lot more generic and less individual that this band used to sound, and so I am a bit disappointed in it. This will certainly get your rocks off, but it lacks a good bit of the filthy off-the-wall feeling of their old albums. Nevertheless, Death and Death/Black fans could do far, far worse than this punishing metallic workout.