Release
date: February
21st
2020.
Label:
Ripple
Music.
Format: CD/DD/Vinyl
Ritual
King - S/T -
Tracklisting
1.
Valleys
2.
No Compromise
3.
Headspace
4.
602
5.
Dead Roads
6.
Restrain
7.
Black Hills
Members
Jordan
Leppitt - Lead Vocals & Guitar
Dan
Godwin - Bass
Gareth
Hodges - Drums & Backing Vocals
Review
I
have to applaud Ripple Music for signing Ritual King to their
ever-growing ranks and bringing the band to my attention. As I
haven’t heard of these guys before and what a great album the band
have released for their self-titled debut album. Ritual King play a
blend of Seventies Hard Rock with the band mixing traces of Blues
Rock, Psych Rock, Classic Doom, Stoner Metal and Proto-Metal into
their music. The end result is a trippy kaleidoscopic ride into the
heavier realms of Hard Rock/Metal.
The
album gets off to a great start with the superb opening song –
Valleys – as Ritual King let fly with stunning guitar riffs that
are steeped in Black Sabbath sounds before adding a more spacier
abstract effect. The vocals are top-notch Doom Rock/Stoner Metal fare
with Ritual King proving all their worth with Progressive grooves
leading the way. The song sounds quite vintage and modern at the same
time. The OTT lyrics give Ritual King another spaced out dimension to
their music.
Second
song – No Compromise – opens with a slower Blues Rock groove with
a slight Jazzy Progressive sound with the band showing their musical
technical ability for the few moments of the song before exploding
into the standard Doom/Stoner Metal Sound Ritual King will use for
the rest of the album. Though it’s good to hear to experience the
Blues Rock influence the band use so well. This song is distinctively
heavy but with a few mellow parts along the way.
Third
song – Headspace – carries on with the slow-paced Blues Rock/Jazz
vibe with the band adding heavy drum beats that signals something
heavier is upon us and then the heavy psychedelic spaced out rhythms
appear. The song becomes grander in scale with the dual vocals of
Jordan and Gareth with the riffs being more direct with the rhythm
section laying down the groundwork for Ritual King to thrive upon.
Fourth
song – 602 – is a more straight-forward foray of Doom/Stoner Rock
from the band and being purely instrumental it becomes one of the
standout songs on the album. As Ritual King play an epic style of
Instrumental Rock/Metal with flashes of Progressive Rock being used
for maximum effect. The instrumental work is stunning as the band
left me wanting more hearing this style of music.
The
final part of the album which contains the following songs - Dead
Roads, Restrain and Black Hills proves why I love the underground
Doom/Stoner Rock scene as Ritual King have a fearless attitude
towards their music. As they play a rich blend of different styles of
music that hold your attention with excellent vocals and song-writing
to match.
This
album has quite a varied sound that you wouldn’t expect. The
distorted sounds that are added to the final part of the album on
Dead Roads for example brings an extra layer of heaviness that allows
Ritual King to impress even more. The production is fantastic
throughout and I’ve said this countless times but I wouldn’t
expect anything less from Ripple Music. So if you need another reason
why to check out this album it’s because being on Ripple Music is a
sign of quality.
Though,
this is Ritual King’s time to shine and they have released a
brilliantly entertaining album that does everything right that you
would want from a debut album. If you’re looking for action-packed
sounds from a band creating music on their own terms, then Ritual
King have all the answers for you right here.
Words
by Steve Howe
Thanks
to Purple
Sage PR for the promo.
Ritual
King debut album will be available
to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via RippleMusic
from Feb 21st 2020.
Links:
