Album Review: Ritual Mass - Cascading Misery
Reviewed by Sam Jones
I’ve had my eyes on these guys for some time now, waiting for them to release that much-awaited full length record, and out of the blue Ritual Mass announce Cascading Misery penned down for a September 5th release date. Formed in 2017 out of Pennsylvania, United States, these guys have been playing the long game, biding their time, releasing material sporadically to get people on board, interested, loyal. They released a self-titled Demo the year of their inception whilst their first EP, 2019’s Abhorred In The Eyes OfGod, became the cornerstone most fans went to for a more in-depth exploration of Ritual Mass’ quality. A Single and Compilation weren’t far behind but fast forwarding another three years and Ritual Mass, picked up by the legendary 20 Buck Spin, are finally ready to give the masses what they’ve been craving. Cascading Misery is a record I was deeply set on grabbing and I’m ecstatic to report on what is destined to be a supreme milestone for the band.
I love the foreboding atmosphere Ritual Mass introduce their record with; it has this electronic dread to it that seems to only deepen right before the riffs come into their own. Once they do its death metal the way only Ritual Mass can deliver, with blast beats and vocals that roar from afar, riffs working with lightning-speed all the while throwing in neck sweeps and these wailing solos written with a downward trajectory in mind. In this respect its less listening to death metal and more taking a detour down the slipping throes of sanity. Take those drums for example, the band may have their purpose for them to fulfill but there are times where any predictability in the drumming is rendered null. They're as subject to chaos as any other piece of the band. You might be loving the blast beats for a moment before the drums reflect the riffs and just drop all the fatty elements away, leaving just the bare, crushing punches Ritual Mass deliver with. This is a major strength of the band and its great to see they showcase it early on. The band really do not hold anything back within their songwriting; headbanging feels to be the sole organic thing to do when this record plays; this is especially crucial when Ritual Mass only have six tracks to get you on board with them therefore, from an initial outset, they do well to engross you firmly within their soundscape. Owing to the cavernous aesthetic their guitar work encapsulates, where riffs emanate this subterranean, stalactite-drooping feeling, it creates the sense that this is no mere band but something not of this light-bleached world.
Something i picked up on is how Ritual Mass’ riffs are far from the usual streamlined pieces death metal may offer you this day and age. Its evident the band are comfortable playing at speed, but that still doesn’t prevent them from breaking the cycle and still writing riffs that change and evolve at the drop of a hat. Pinning down where the riff is taking you, upon a first listen, is tricky because the moment you start comprehending what they’ll do next is the precise instance Ritual Mass grasp your throat and show just how wrong you are. This can be rapid-fire blocky riffs hurtling into pinched harmonics into neck sweeps and back again; all this is pulled off in under five seconds and, then, you get that sequence repeated, reminding you this is no gimmick but an integral part of the song e.g. “Immeasurable Hell”. Changing back and forth between multiple riff styles on the fly, on point, amidst the demands of the band’s songwritings is impressive. Ritual Mass may be playing death metal and audiences will surely have their expectations, but their technicality must not be downplayed. They’re able to do all this yet never outright slow down to give us “breathing room”;there is no such opportunity, its this incessant wall of sound that can’t sit still and detonates like dynamite.
I think this is one of the most successful examples of organised chaos people will hear in a while. We must not water it down; Ritual Mass did not come here to play timidly in the corner; this is a straight assault upon your physical form let alone your senses. Itsbeen a long time coming and the band know it, and you’llunderstand that in turn as this record plays, and continues to play. But you’ll also come away staggered at how they play solos and riffs akin to schizophrenic nightmare at the same time as basslines summon oceanic monstrosities. Then you have the other guitar coming in with massive slabs of sound, underlining the record, yet its own force entirely. Throw in the vocals, bellowing and blistering afar but finding victim in our petrified stance, and you’ve got a performance that will make your gooseflesh come forth. They manage to throw so much unrestrained power at you at once and it never feels overwhelming; whoever conducted the mix for this record did a stellar job balancing each vocal and instrumental component of Cascading Misery. Better yet, its clean; there’s hardly a muddy resonance on record so whatever section the band subject you to, you’ll be able to recognise the sheer severity of the onslaught coming your way, and know for future that will be waiting for you again and again.
I noticed the record is structured cleverly to give you a vast sledgehammer experience at the start with a near-seven minutetrack with the next few minimising in time spent, only to start increasing again with longer, deliberate timespans that prep you readily for their final fourteen minute epic. When a band includes a track, like this instance, that’s nearly half the entire album’s runtime you’re damned right I'm curious. In some cases people may see this as a sudden burden given how much allotted time and attention they now need to preside over for this one song. But since Ritual Mass have plotted their record like a statistical graph (a metaphor I thought I'd never use), starting high in time spent with a song, decreasing, dipping, then rising again to a new apex at the end, that massive opus becomes part of the journey as opposed to some new and sudden upheaval audiences realise they need to endure. It becomes that brain-tickling high attained from conquering one increasingly fearsome foe after another as opposed to gritting oneself, quailing, against the coming ordeal. But its during this massive closer that the band finally slow down, implementing nuanced writing that’s just as weighty and dismal as anything they play frantically. They knew they had to throw in something to keep you invested in a fourteen-minute track and after a record where the pace has barely relented, its a sudden moment of introspection as you look back on the journey Cascading Misery has thus far taken you down. Ending their record with a sequence that sees the juxtaposition of that brooding riff with the seething jets their songwriting otherwise possesses, it all comes together to send off Ritual Mass’ first record with a bow.
In conclusion, Cascading Misery is a fantastic debut record by Ritual Mass. This has clearly been something the band have tirelessly toiled away on for it simply does not present itself as a band’s first full length. You'd think they were numerous albums deep already, such is the sublime vitriol this record vomits, but alas Ritual Mass are only now beginning their foray into full length releases. I absolutely loved my time spent with this record and iknow upon finishing, i could start it all over again and receive just as much entertainment as i did the first time. If anything that’s when the juicy quality of their soundscape comes into play, knowing just how furtively unhinged their performance feels but understanding you’re in safe hands and won’t be thrown off-kilter by the bludgeoning array of elements at their disposal. It manages to be simultaneously polished and dissonant, lined with crust but its path marked just enough to recognise at least your whereabouts. With their first album Ritual Mass finally join the big newcomers of modern death metal and i can only imagine the buzz such a decrepit work will generate come its release date. 20 Buck Spin strike again with the utmost quality.
