What makes The Vision Of Fading Mankind stand out from all the other great albums being produced is the significant aesthetic differences between the two bands behind the album. Temple of Baal are a vicious black metal band, and Ritualization make brutal death metal. It is is the intelligent juxtaposition of these two disparate forms, and the respect the artists working in different genres have for each other's work, that make the split a success.
The first four tracks on The Vision Of Fading Mankind are the work of Temple of Baal. The militant drumming and an aggressive pace immediately define their contribution. The mix is heavy on the bass and just raw enough to make the guitars seem to be coming from all directions at once, swarming the listener. There is nothing brooding or introspective about this material, unlike the moody offering from many French black metal artists.
The tracks begin furious and never relent, a searing, smothering maelstrom. “When Mankind Falls,” for example, is one of those rare songs that seem to wish genuine harm to the listener. “Heresy Forever Enthroned” has the most variation in terms of tempo (also the longest) but never veers from violence.
Ritualization's three tracks begin with a clearer productions values and harsher death vocals, heralding a sudden shift into old-school brutal death metal that is jarring but not at all unwelcome. The climbing guitar riffs that claw upwards, and the drumming alternates between a rolling gallop and searingly fast blast beats. The record's highlight is certainly the cover of Mortem's “The Devil Speaks in Tongues,” the final track on the album. Dirty, relishing the grotesque, Ritualization's tracks work both in counterpoint to and complimenting Temple of Baal's contributions.
The Vision Of Fading Mankind is an excellent example a successful collaboration, an album that preserves and honours the individual style of each artist's contributions while creating a structurally sound record. The bands don't try to absorb or emulate each other's style, but do incorporate little flourishes of death metal in the black metal and vice versa. The result is conceptually interesting and well balanced, and each half of the split is an equally enjoyable listen.
(released February 14, 2012 on Agonia Records)
