To count the number of black metal bands who have tried to emulate, or just straight up copy, the sound of the classic masters of black metal would be nearly impossible because the list continues to go on and on to this day. Very rarely do we get an act that actually does a pretty decent job at doing so, and whenever it comes along it deserves praise for breathing new life into a sound that’s rarely attained in such quality that’s always amazingly delicious when done well. Going into the next offering from Hell’s Coronation, I wasn’t sure if they’d meet the mark but it’s not halfway through this dark work that we see they meet every mark in exquisite fashion.

Really, I should’ve known what I was in for given that utterly blasphemous cover art as it really illustrates the dark spirit that inhabits that massive load of darkness that Hell’s Coronation wields with unholy intent with vicious musicianship to boot. “Ritual Chalice of Hateful Blood” brings together everything that an old school black metal record should in absolute spades with everything on the checklist being marked off almost instantly by the end of the first track, but there’s so much more to what Hell’s Coronation has offered here that it’s a real surprise to me that we get this on this band’s first full-length album. And this isn’t just another fast-paced album that just chants everything great about Satan or has the same riff in every song. Instead, “Ritual Chalice of Hateful Blood” takes the speed down just a notch such that Hell’s Coronation has still created a fiery album that’s all but scathing in how calculated it in is its devilish glory and mid-paced tempo that’s as hypnotic as it is menacing. That’s for the entire album as well with every ounce of malice that goes into “Ritual Chalice of Hateful Blood” being one hymn to the fires of hell after another with Hell’s Coronation commanding the hellions with true aggression and power that can’t be denied as they carve a path through hell itself that’s truly one to behold.

This is an album that brings forth every classic trope of black metal with pristine quality that nails every possible goal it could have as an album and it’s across every voracious moment that spans “Ritual Chalice of Hateful Blood” that we can tell this is an album that’s only the beginning of a blasphemous march against light itself. Hell’s Coronation has put on a massive display whose power cannot be denied, and I can’t wait to hear more!

“Ritual Chalice of Hateful Blood” releases on October 31st via Godz ov War Productions!

LISTEN to advanced tracks from “Ritual Chalice of Hateful Blood” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Hell’s Coronation on Facebook here.