RITUALS OF THE DEAD HAND was conceived in the fall of 2016 when Lykaios (Guitar/Vox – Hemelbestormer, Entartung, Wolven, Lhaäd, ex-Gorath) and Isangrim (Drums – Hemelbestormer, ex-Serpentcult, ex-Death Penalty) decided to venture back in the darkest, deepest caverns of extreme metal and ventilate their love for eerie, brooding and sinister death-, black- and doom metal.

Inspired and fueled by tales of the infamous “Buck Rider Cult”, the duo recorded four monstrously heavy tracks for “Blood Oath”, their first full length that was released by German underground label Dunkelheit Produktionen in November 2018. Although there were initially no plans for bringing their unholy gospels to the stage, Rituals Of The Dead Hand changed their mind after hearing “Blood Oath” in all its glory and soon enlisted Beleth as their live bass player. Some selected shows shows were played, but the band also chose to strike while the iron was hot and started gathering ideas for a second album. During this writing process, Beleth joined as a permanent member.

“With Hoof And Horn” was recorded in the summer of 2020, straight in the middle of the Covid pandemic, and once again released by Dunkelheit Produktionen in May 2021. Musically, everything was turned up a few notches (even some classical arrangements by The Halls Of Stained Glass were added) and the band dove even deeper in the dark and unsettling folklore of the Buckriders for their lyrics and concepts. Soon after that, Rituals Of The Dead Hand returned to the stage on different occasions, including appearances at Catacomb Fest and the renowned Unholy Congregation. Meanwhile, a third album was already lurking in the shadows, vowing to obliterate all that is good and pure…

“With that all said, it was time to start the next chapter of our journey, our third album was written and recorded during 2022 and a new record deal to release our new opus was signed with our very own home based Belgian record label Immortal Frost Productions.