The resurgence of early 90’s flavored death metal has been steadily picking up in recent years. Spain’s Oniricous attempts to jump aboard the same death-wagon, however by injecting a bit more bounce and melody to set themselves apart.

At first glance I was expecting something similar to Sadistic Intent, but as more riffs progressed I realized that the source material is very much akin to Death’s Leprosy/Spiritual Healing (occasional dabbling of progressive riffing) or Massacre’s From Beyond.

Most of the songs are done in the same format, thus tend to run together and have no song that stands out. After my first listen I felt as if I had just watched a reunited Massacre play on Telemundo. All of the aspects are here to mold into a worthwhile outfit, but there isn’t too much replay value if you judge Ritos Diabolicos based solely on the material that’s presented.

Despite the pitfalls, fans of early Tampa death metal will enjoy Oniricous for being a trip down memory lane. Most of the elements that popularized bands like Death and Massacre are present in Ritos Diabolicos.

Tags: death metal, Oniricous, Ritos Diabolicos, Spanish Death Metal