Sometimes simply being good at what you do is far more powerful than any sort of innovation one could bring to the table. Don’t get wrong, I love watching a band challenge itself and its listeners to dramatic effect, but a band that can deliver a performance that knows all the right beats to hit with all the right moves can make for a wild experience the likes of which we’re always seeking out whether we know it or not. With their first full-length album, The Red Mass Ritual deliver such a piece with their brand of overwhelming death metal.
Given the sheer volume that’s to be had in a sound like death metal, it is paramount that you already know what you’re doing lest you immediately come across as an act that can feel one-dimensional, half-baked, or, the absolute worst, uninspired. Not everything has to involve supreme reinvention or subversion of what the sound has become known for, but knowing what you’re doing can make a world of difference. Clearly, The Red Mass Ritual understood that concept during the making of “Cervine” with the album as a whole serving as a tremendous declaration of what this band is already capable of throwing down. In no small form, this is a record that holds nothing back in order to assure that the listener is eviscerated to the fullest and left as little more than a pulsating lump of bloody flesh on the floor. There is nothing forgiving about this record as “Cervine” constantly and consistently delivers unto us a visceral experience that is laced with thrash to make damn sure that this death metal carefully crafted to brutalize and obliterate in virtually every sense, and it would be an insult to insinuate that The Red Mass Ritual did not follow through on that.
Through pure intensity and raw talent in ways of songwriting, this record overcomes any possible adversity to make it a damn good performance without ever once trying and then failing to be something more. Brutal and an absolute ripper of a record, The Red Mass Ritual has pulled off a great achievement with “Cervine”, laying the foundation for their next work to be something special whenever it arrives.
LISTEN to “Cervine” on Bandcamp here.
LIKE The Red Mass Ritual on Facebook here.
FOLLOW The Red Mass Ritual on Instagram here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZyfCb5_yeM