HOUR OF 13 (USA) - Black Magick Rites (new LP copy; not sealed) (2020) Released by Shadow Kingdom Records on Clear w/Black Smoke "Magick Smoke" vinyl
HOUR OF 13's first full-length offering in over eight years, Black Magick Rites (4th full-length overall) was available digitally on November 1st, 2020 for only 24 hours. Just as uniquely, Black Magick Rites also marks the first HOUR OF 13 album where band leader Chad Davis handles not only all instruments, but also all vocals. Indeed, Davis' vocals evoke an ancient nostalgia, of Doom Metal before it was "Doom Metal" - of the days when bands like Black Sabbath, Pagan Altar, and Witchfinder General simply followed their respective muses wherever it took them. 
And for Davis, Black Magick Rites sees him taking his HOUR OF 13 muse toward a rougher, more Rock 'n' Roll expression and yet tinged with an emotive melancholy that resonates deeply within the soul. No, no flavour-of-the-week "occult rock" cliches here, for Davis still prizes blue-collared authenticity in his Doom, but he likewise never lets it hamper his immediately recognizable songwriting, which here ever so subtly inches closer to classic Deathrock territory (think the likes of early Christian Death and Voodoo Church). 
Naturally, with a title like Black Magick Rites, an indulgence in occultism is expected, and you can literally feel the fingers of the black beyond reaching out to you across every electric minute of this 44-minute monolith.
Despite those isolated breakups, HOUR OF 13 continue to get better with age. Perfectly titled as any record in their enviable discography, Black Magick Rites is the sweet sound of salvation...through damnation. Shadow Kingdom Records – SKR180LP