Release Date: November 17th 2023. Record Label: Ripple Music. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl
The Infinite Mirror - Tracklisting
1.Flow State
2.Worlds Divide
3.Landmass
4.Tethered
5.The Infinite Mirror
Members:
Jordan Leppitt - Lead Vocals & Guitar
Dan Godwin - Bass
Gareth Hodges - Drums & Backing Vocals
Review
Cosmic/Psych/Stoner Rockers Ritual King return with their new album The Infinite Mirror and it’s a more Spaced Out affair with the band drawing upon a heavier Blues Rock sound which reminds me of GEEZER in places. This album is quite a musical adventure with Ritual King playing huge levels of Classic Hard Rock where the band throw in some epic Progressive sounding jams along with the never-ending style of thrilling guitar solos.
The record has an eerie Post-Doom or Post-Stoner flow that fans of ELDER and King Buffalo will appreciate but with perhaps a more 70’s Prog Rock feel. Ritual King still focus on playing that Heavy Psychedeqlic dominant Stoner sound where slight flashes of Sludge Rock attitude forms within the stunning opening track Flow State.
Flow State sees Ritual King play a slightly more aggressive sound compared to their celebrated 2020 self-titled debut album. The vocals from Jordan are impressive as ever, perhaps even better than they have ever been. The song is quite philosophical with RItual King exploring areas of the human psyche which you can feel through the sublime lyrics written for the song. If you’re here for the music alone then Ritual King have all bases covered with a classic style of Psychedelic Stoner which expertly bridges the gap between Cosmic Rock and Heavy Progressive grooves that lead onto greater sounds for the rest of the album.
Second song Worlds Divide is mostly driven by extended instrumental Heavy Psychedelic jams with the vocals appearing only when they need to. There’s a more playful quality to the lyrics on this track with Ritual King having fun with their music. The song has multiple musical up-tempo changes where the song is mostly melodic but changes to a heavier Doomed Out sound with the non-stop delivery of classic guitar shredding throughout.
Third song Landmass sees Ritual King become ever more confident with their wicked style of Heavy Psychedelic Cosmic Doom with this track having a more story driven narrative expressed superbly well within the vocals, lyrics and instrumental sounds on this track. The album becomes more forward thinking with tales of contacts with other lifeforms and the perils that go along with that type of journey. Ritual King delivers more heavy bombastic moments of Sludge fused Blues Rock/Stoner grooves with the band playing some of the heaviest parts of the album.
The final two tracks of Tethered and The Infinite Mirror is where RItual King becomes more focused upon delivering Progressive Stoner Rock with huge waves of Blues Rock that captures the 70’s Hard Rock influence down to a fine art. There’s a lot more SONIC or COSMIC interplay on these two tracks alone but Ritual King still allow themselves the perfect opportunity to play many wicked styles of Heavy Psychedelic Rock which marries up the Doom, Stoner and Sludge aesthetics amazingly well for some outstanding instrumental solos and great vocals by Jordan and Gareth.
There’s a lot more focus on the storytelling side of things for these two tracks alone with Ritual King playing twenty minutes of music that delivers pure “world-building” entertainment with the heavy destructive grooves that allows the band to end the album on an almighty high with real emotional depth leaving a lasting impression.
The Infinite Mirror has first-rate production values which the band co-produced along with Luke Clarke who also helped on Mixing and Engineering duties. Jim Spence also does a stellar job on mastering duties. With the excellent artwork by Ryan T Hancock, help this to be the complete package for all dedicated followers of the Doom/Stoner Metal scene. You need more evidence to add this record to your collection. Well, it’s being released by premier underground Heavy Rock label Ripple Music. And they always deliver the goods and The Infinite Mirror is no exception with a record that delivers some of the most exciting and action packed Cosmic/Heavy Psychedelic sounds you’ll hear this year.
Ritual King is making a late bid for releasing an AOTY Contender and I’m happy to say they’ve achieved that objective. This is another must have record from Ritual KIng who are perhaps shaping upto be the next breakout act from the UK Doom/Stoner Metal scene.
Words by Steve Howe
Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the promo.
The Infinite Mirror will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via Ripple Music from 17th November 2023.
Links
Official | Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram
