The conceptual music of RUÏM is inspired by 90s black metal, mainly from unused Mayhem era riffs from 1998/99, which has led to the creation of this side project band. Musically, the songs on the debut full-length  combine a bone-chilling atmosphere that perfectly contrasts with the sharp ominous tone of the guitars. The riffs are rife with razor-sharp tremolos, dissonance and acerbic power, while the drums dominate its hellish ferociousness. Blasphemer raises the bar high and there is no doubt that the atmosphere in the opening track ‘Blood.Sacrifice.Enthronement’ has that aggressive unorthodox spirit. In this magnum opus which builds slowly with the guitars creating dark textures, the riffs are perfectly honed and have their own flair of sounding ominously eerie and threatening.

The blazing attack of tremolos in the following track ‘The Triumph (Of Night & Fire)’ offers the classic tradition of rapid hellfire scorching riffs, capturing the classic roots of Mayhem. In this sense, the drums sound brutal and visceral. The riff structure is meticulously woven, but the aggression rampages through powerful blast beats as there are plenty of fast tempos and continuously shifts to unexpected twists. The pitch-black atmosphere of the guitars creates many slow and bleak moments in a number of tracks and there seems to be a great sense of horror in the opening of ‘The Black House’. The vocals are mostly the harsh and screeching style of black metal. In fact, they make the songs more appealing, especially, when the ritualistic chants are used they create a menacing aura.

Blasphemer flawlessly maintains the pitch-black atmosphere, mixing cold dissonance with dark rhythm giving them an incredibly hellish quality. ‘Black Royal Spiritism’ puts in the spotlight the excellent performance of Blasphemer as one of the best guitarists in the genre of black metal. The album’s title track ‘Black Royal Spiritism’ morphs into dark, atmospheric spheres and the layered whispers capture the eerie quality of the guitars. The sustained burst of machine-gun drums are as fast as the lightning bolts. Each track seems like a dreadful, supernatural experience.

RUÏM unlocks the musical aptitude of the artist who continually brings out unique ideas and songwriting brilliance as well, as his technical abilities are showcased throughout the album. ‘Evig Dissonans’ is one the songs sung in the Norwegian language and contains a fair amount of sharp acerbic riffs. CSR dominates the drums kit and maintains the pace: offering insane rapid blast beats, the track combines traditional tremolo-picked riffs. The use of dissonance and the dark atmospheric effects demonstrate the ominous nature of the musical themes. The spooky manifestation of the eerie guitar effects sustains the dark flow of the music and somehow they are very similar to the style of Mayhem.

The spectacular musicianship in the track ‘Fall of Seraphs’ achieves a great mastery of composition: each instrument is perfectly layered, and the guitar arrangement and the song itself are very inspiring. Besides being one of Mayhem’s best songs written in the post-Euronymous era, the  former vocalist from Absu (Proscriptor McGovern) makes a special appearance in this track. While there are some changes made to the song, the dense guitars emphasize the hellish atmosphere, and the drums deliver clinical blast beats.

‘Ao Rio’ is a slow-burn atmospheric song that combines clean vocals and guitar and takes a full turn from black metal towards a piece of ambient music. This is perhaps the weaker track in the album, sounding very experimental and essentially unnecessary. The final track ‘O Sino da Igreja’ has a darker feel in the tone of the vocals, yet the drums are incredibly powerful and visceral, with the mood swaying in enthrallment through the use of hypnotic effects. The drumming is extremely powerful, alternating between double bass and blistering fast-paced tempos with the riffs showing the unique hybrid approach manifesting the genius flair of Blasphemer.

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