Formed in 2011, Ordeals
are a black/death metal trio from New York City. Their history includes
the “Apotheosis” EP in 2016, a split with Daethorn in
2018, and the “Choose Death” EP in 2019. Though their output has been sparse,
it always hinted at something larger and more fully realized to come. Now,
through Eternal Death, their debut album “Third
Rail Prayer” arrives in both CD and vinyl format.
“Third Rail Prayer” feels like a descent into subterranean chaos, suffocating and strangely vast. The riffs churn like rusted machinery, yet carry an undercurrent of spectral melody that cuts through the grime. There’s an atmosphere of decay throughout the album, as if the songs are carved directly out of the city’s buried tunnels, layered with filth and fever. Ordeals balances violence with a kind of ominous grandeur, pulling the listener into a shifting maze of fury, delirium, and oppressive weight.
The vocals, delivered with unrelenting force, sound like curses echoing through collapsed cathedrals, adding to the sense of collapse and inevitability. Songs rise and fall in unpredictable shapes, often spiraling into crushing ends that feel like walls closing in. It’s a work of extremity, dense with atmosphere, yet constantly pushing forward with raw intensity.
In the end,
“Third Rail Prayer” feels like something exhumed, dragged out from beneath the
earth to breathe pestilence into the air. Ordeals has
delivered a debut that sounds less like music to live by and more like a
liturgy for ruin.
Score: 7.8
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