Blood of the Black Owl - A Banishing Ritual (2010)^{Release ID: 9150}

This is the third full-length release from Chet W Scott's Seattle-based solo project Blood Of The Black Owl. It comprises of one long piece cut into four movements of deeply engaging (& mostly ritualistic) dark ambient. 

Opener "Intent (Movement I)" is an epic dirge that builds slowly with delicately strummed acoustic guitars & glistening melodic overlays. It slowly envelopes the listener until it disintegrates into some tribal drums which initially seem to be a little too out of time for my liking although they are no less hypnotic. I can only assume that Chet was going for a very organic feel for the drums & decided that they sounded more authentic with the slight timing blemishes. The movement draws to an end after some beautiful pipe melodies pierce the sinister soundscape. An encouraging start to the album.  

 Movement II is entitled "The Statement Of Will" & it is the only piece to include any traditional metal as it blasts into some simple Celtic Frost style power chord riffs before giving way to some dark atmospheric ambience & twisted spoken word vocals. The metal section then returns with the addition of a simple clean guitar melody to close out the shortest & least impressive of the four movements. I would've been much happier if this track had been excluded & replaced with some more of the dark ambient material as it seems out of place to my ears.  

 "Chant Of The Captured Spirit (Movement III)" returns to the immense building dirge style & again captures me emotionally with it's power & hypnotic repetition. This sound is extremely dark & is certainly not for everyone but I can see quite a few black metal fans having the world of dark ambient opened up to them by this. The track perfectly depicts the urgency & horror of its title & ambient music does not get much bigger. This is the clear album highlight but I wouldn't put it on when the oldies are round for dinner. 

"The Final Banishing (Movement IV)" brings the listener back to earth with some very minimal (not to mention beautiful) acoustic guitars & whispered spoken word for the first eight minutes before transforming into another dark tribal ritual piece. Agonizing screams chant painfully & guitar noodlings fade in & out of the swirling atmosphere.  

 "A Banishing Ritual" finishes with some eery & disenchanting female vocals that leave me feeling a deep sense of hopelessness. It is only after the final seconds of the album die away that you realise what a deep journey Blood Of The Black Owl have taken you on. One full of timeless ambience & ritual. It also leaves me regretting that the second movement was included to take a small amount off the gloss away from an otherwise monumental release.