Recently, I had an interview with Steven Vrieswijk from Dutch band Klaïton. Apart from the aforementioned Steven Vrieswijk (bass) the band is comprises Gratiën Versijpt (vocals), Erwin Wesdorp (guitars), Stefan Verdoorn (guitars) and Ronald Camonier (drums).

A short introduction for those of you who haven’t read the interview yet; Klaïton is an old-school death metal quintet hailing from Zeeland, The Netherlands. The foundations of the band go back to 2013, as it is really founded from the remains of Polluted Inheritance and Burial. On October 12 last year (2024) they unveiled their independent debut EP titled Behind The Ritual. The promotion of the EP was handled by Hard Life Promotion. Despite of the fact that that they’ve built up a cult status on their domestic death metal scene, Behind The Ritual is their first official release, an EP with five songs on it.

Track listing for Behind The Ritual;

01. Scavenger
02. Silence
03. Testament to Greed
04. Fearing the Other
5. Behind the Ritual

The sound is a mix of brutal aggression and sometimes a mix of more fast-paced and technical parts, but there is always a lot of time and space for the solos in the tracks. The lyrics are all Gratiën Versijpt’s. As far as inspiration, one only has to watch the news and the state of the world. In other words; the dark side of humanity and its extremes. Songs like the opening “Scavenger” and the following “Silence” are both a mid-tempo bangers, while the tempo really increases with “Testament to Greed” – probably the strongest track from this EP! The two remaining tracks; “Fearing the Other” and title song “Behind the Ritual” are also a blast to enjoy. The juiciest and more complex technical parts we can hear in the longest track, “Silence” and again in “Testament to Greed”. In general terms; vocals are grunting, deep, guttural and raspy, guitar solos are very sharp, with aggressive & rapid-fire riffing, the bass which nicely weaves through the soundscape, and finally an intense, varied and hellish drumming featuring intricate fills. The intricate instrumental arrangements reveal a depth that captivates, inviting listeners to immerse themselves in a world where chaos and darkness intertwine.

Spanning a brisk twenty minutes and divided into five distinct tracks, Behind The Ritual is very much enjoyable, listenable and tasty piece of old-school death metal. Due to the relatively short nature of the songs, and the whole EP, there’s no single moment of boredom or repetitive tones on it. Therefore, Behind the Ritual is a heavy, raw and brutal release, that captures the very essence of classic/old-school death metal.

It’s not very often that I talk of the artwork, but I’ll make a little exception here, as I find the cover art for Behind The Ritual captivating with its striking allure, pulling you into its depths of chaos. The album’s title resonates equally with great power to the imagery of Jesus in red, where the bold use of red evokes feelings of aggression.

Despite the fact that this self-recorded five-tracker EP is the first opus from the band, it is certainly worth it – a great new chapter in the already long history of this band. Now, I hope that this hard-hitting Dutch combo will become a bit more productive and that we don’t have to wait another ten years for a possible successor. Especially recommended for worshippers of the likes of Death, Obituary, Entombed, Asphyx, Memoriam, Dismember, and a must-have for any extreme/brutal death metal fanatic out there.

For further information on this particular release visit https://klaiton.bandcamp.com/album/behind-the-ritual