Review: DARK MINISTRY “The Sermon Begins”

DARK MINISTRY “The Sermon Begins”

This is a very young band coz its history began in August 2015. Home-city of musicians is capitol of Canada – Ottawa. And here these of you who’re really interested in Thrash Metal and first of all at least basic facts about several band, will think something like: “wait a moment. EXCITER is from Ottava!” And in fact it’ll be very good, pertinent and fitting notice! Not only coz EXCITER is really from Ottava, but first of all coz one of them who reactivated the band in 1886 was Rik Charron (dr). He played there eighteen years since 1996 and participated in their five albums – all which band released in this period (they never had good luck with labels and stabile line-up, unfortunately). Reasons why Rik left the band four years after releasing “Death Machine” aren’t important here. The most important is that he was creating new band – DARK MINISTRY!

In quite short time he found right musicians and together with them recorded three songs for their self-released, debut EP. My first thought after listening of “The Sermon Begins” was… Well, there were two thoughts indeed. First of them was “That’s shame that here’s only three songs!”, the second was “YEAAAAH!!!!!! I can hear here this Canadian school of playing Thrash Metal and touch of EXCITER”. It doesn’t of course mean that DARK MINISTRY plays in the same way or copying in any point ex-band of Rik!!! Of course the main similarity is about way of drumming what’s natural, but also about guitars and general character if the music, So, as I said, we have here three songs of classic Thrash Metal. But I can also hear some elements or better to say: delicate touches of other subgenres of Metal. But they’re really very subtle, so let’s leave them alone… heheheheeh…

Everything’s here just like it should be in such music!!! Riffs are sharp and aggressive. They’re also quite short and change as often as music’s structure let for doing this. So both Max (Neckshredder) and David (Tyo) do good job. Anyway, since we have two guitars here they play different riffs mostly – of course one is in harmony with another. It makes music more complete surely. Of course it couldn’t run short of some soloes. I have no idea which of guys play them, but the fact is that they’re really good ones. Not so complicated, but probably that’s why they complement the music. The fact that they’re short ones has also this plus that they don’t destroy common character of what D. M. plays. I can also herar the entire time pulsating bass if Carlo Cote.

About drumming of Rik Charron I’ll don’t say a word. The reason is that everyone who has at least fair to middling insight into the Thrash Metal world knows very well Rik’s style of playing. So it’d be just waste of time to describe it, I guess. But about vocalist (Tyler Knapp) I’ll write couple of words. He sings in the way I like very much – with aggression and a little bit of hysteria in voice. We can say that it’s some touch of old-school Hard Core singing (AGNOSDTIC FROMT, D. R. I. and so on) here.

And that’s it!!! I really can recommend this band to all Thrashers, first of all! And I’m looking forward to their album which should come out really soon (of course if everything’s will come duly)!!!