Hour Of 13 releases the new album »Black Magick Rites« in physical formats, out today via Shadow Kingdom Records

American doom metal one-man band Hour Of 13 featuring multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Chad Davis (The Crooked Whispers, The Sabbathian) finally releases the new album »Black Magick Rites« in physical formats, which was available digitally on November 1st, 2020 for only 24 hours.
»Black Magick Rites« will be released today, August 27th, 2021 via Shadow Kingdom Records.
Chad Davis comments: “On the eve of the release of the 4th Hour Of 13 album, I would like to take this moment to make something official: Hour Of 13 will now become a full time endeavor. With the reviews of the new album coming in and being positive (mostly), I feel the time is right to start to focus on it more than I yave been, which has been mostly negligent. I will still have other things to do, namely The Crooked Whispers and Subklinik to name a few. Whether or not I remain on vocals is up in the air; I’d honestly rather focus on the music but will stay on voice if needed. To everyone that has been there for the support such as Shadow Kingdom Records, Svart Records, Decibel Magazine, Electric Assault Records as well as a lot more, I eternally thank you for the support.”
Tracklist:
01. His Majesty Of The Wood
02. Return From The Grave
03. House Of Death
04. Black Magick Rites
05. Within The Pentagram
06. Harvest Night
07. The Mystical Hall Of Dreams
From Shadow Kingdom Records:
Shadow Kingdom Records is proud to present Hour Of 13’s long-awaited fourth album, »Black Magick Rites«, on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats.
By now, Hour Of 13 should require little introduction. For the better part of two decades, mainman Chad Davis has pursued a unique and intensely personal iteration of traditional doom metal. Along the way and over the course of three albums and numerous EPs, Hour Of 13 have built a formidable discography that’s amassed a fanatic following awaiting each spooky ‘n’ somber offering Davis and his rotating cast of cohorts creates. And while he’s released records for a variety of labels over the years, in between a couple breakups, Davis brings Hour Of 13 back to Shadow Kingdom, who released the band’s self-titled debut album in 2007 long before the hype started.
Hour Of 13’s first full-length offering in over eight years, »Black Magick Rites« 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 he 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 flavor-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.
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well