Friday 3 January 2020

RYTE - S/T (Album Review)


Release date: January 17th 2020. Label: Heavy Psych Sounds. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

RYTE – S/T – Tracklisting

Raging Mammoth
Shaking Pyramid
Monolith
Invaders

Review

Ryte unleash their blend of Psychedelic Stoner Rock which has moments of Prog Rock and Jazzy interludes thrown in that makes the band sound that little bit different. The album is quite dark but one that has a never-ending amount of Progressive Stoner/Doom based jams lurking within it’s dark soul. Ryte add strands of Psychedelic and Spaced Out Grooves to their overall sound for a more structured approach.

If you dig the heavy noises of Monster Magnet, then Ryte will have you covered with their epic style of music contained on each of the four songs held on the album.

Opening song – Raging Mammoth – is an instrumental song with the band playing a wicked blend of Psych Rock, Space Rock and Stoner Rock that can be quite eerie in places especially when the gloomy atmospherics appear. The music is constantly heavy and packed full of rich progressive ideas that allows Ryte to create a more powerful stylistic sound. The song has a Seventies Prog Rock feel and is offset against a heavy and violent Nineties Stoner Rock/Metal approach that lays down the groundwork for the rest of the album to follow.

Second song – Shaking Pyramid – is the longest track on the album running almost part the twelve-minute mark. This is the standout song on the album with Ryte impressing on all levels. The heavy guitars have an almost down-tuned feel to them and the music is constantly engaging and heavy in equal measure. There is a Punk Rock attitude running within the band’s DNA and the atmosphere does have a “Stop-Start” approach. Vocals do appear on this song but they’re quite minimal. However, the vocals do add a sense of urgency to the overall flow of the album.

Third song – Monolith – moves the album into Black Sabbath territory but with the Jazzy Interludes being more constant amongst the gloomy Stoner Rock/Metal grooves. The song has its fair share of slow and fast moments which allows you to embrace more of the crazy music Ryte have created for this song. This is another one of the standout songs on the album as Ryte play an unconventional style of music that is both thrilling and entertaining in equal measure.

The final song – Invaders – opens with a deep heavy bass riff before the heavy down-tuned guitars take over for a more dramatic style of Doom Rock. Ryte perhaps have the most fun on this song as it’s quite creepy and a more devilish sound compared to the other songs. The song has a familiar “Stop-Start” approach to begin with before speeding up to a more exciting style of Psychedelic Stoner Rock. Ryte do add some fantastic creepy vocals to the song that allows the song to become almost an Occult Rock experience.

This is an album will take many repeated listens to fully appreciate. As it’s quite a complex sounding album in places and casual listeners may not take to Ryte style of Doom/Stoner Rock. Though that hasn’t stopped Ryte in creating a first-rate and action packed album that’s quite theatrical in all the right places.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Claire at Purple Sage PR and Mona at All Noir PR for the promo. RYTE will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via Heavy Psych Sounds from Jan 17th 2020.

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