Grief Ritual – Spiritual Disease (EP)
Release Date: 9th September 2022
Label: Self-Released
Bandcamp
Genre: Blackened Hardcore, Metalcore, Sludge Metal, Grindcore, Post-Metal, Death Metal.
FFO: END, Harms Way, Leeched.
Review By: Joe McKenna
Caught between the musical crossfire of blackened hardcore, metalcore, and fringing on the slow, heaviness of sludge metal and death metal, Grief Ritual rapidly attracting much attention within a handful of underground metal and hardcore scenes. The band have toured extensively throughout the past year with bands such as Heriot, Heart of a Coward, Knocked Loose, Static Dress, Wiegedood and END, whilst taking their brand of caustic, confrontational metallic hardcore sound to a handful of festivals like Bloodstock Open Air, 2000 Trees, and Arctangent. September 9th sees the well-established hardcore trio release their much-awaited EP Spiritual Disease, appropriately named in response to the dystopic and tyrannical state of the UK as imposed by the current conservative government. A brutal record that packs all the punches, Spiritual Disease is five songs of unrelenting heaviness that confronts the broken state of the world, poverty-stricken reality, economic inequality and the failing system that has turned humanity into a nihilistic shell of a man.
The remorselessness of this record for starters just doesn’t give out through the EP’s runtime. The pummelling guitar riffs dominate the sonic palette and decimate the sound barriers with great ferocity and depth. Dissonant periods of apprehension are further added to conjure the evil and tense moments of extremity and brutality, accompanied by these thumping rhythmic breakdowns that add a sludgy edge. The vocals leer in a sinister manner forcing the listener to confront the angst-ridden soundscapes that set in, these are also adjoined by these creepy backing wails, such is the case for the opening of Immurement, which personifies the emotional state of being trapped and imprisoned in a fragmented system damaged by those who designed it.
Whilst the persistent emphasis for heavy breakdowns and volatile riffs plague the record throughout, the application of atmosphere should also be recognised with much appreciation. These eerie moments of horror-induced soundscapes invite you into a very threatening and hostile world, it commands your attention and prepares you for the worst of fates, most notably recognised at the beginning of Atrophy.
The record’s third track, Telluric, exemplifies this well incorporated fusion of forceful brutality through the main instrumentation being blended with dark ambient sections in an interesting way. The band’s second single, moreover, creates elements of minimal precision to moments of instrumental flair so fluently all whilst aiming to convey the brutal, declining state of the NHS and 12 years of social care disregarded by those who reside in power, the gloomy ambient sections such as the streams of electric currents radiate their neglect for those that they perceive as below them.
It seems years in the making since a band of Grief Ritual’s calibre came onto the scene, by that I mean the band’s directness, aggression, and openness to address deeply personal and social issues could be moulded in such a unique and stylish fashion. Spiritual Disease may be the band’s first featured release, but this debut EP already resonates with so many fans and artists, displaying artistic merit through brutal performative delivery, precise songwriting, and confrontational lyricism, the band are challenging the current scope of metallic hardcore and bringing in a new age of harsh, abrasive underground music.
(4.5 / 5)
