“Feel like this State wants me in the ground.”
2022 is shaping up to be a good year for those who enjoy visceral and violence-inducing records; earlier this year, Vein.vm and Heriot offered up face-peeling soundscapes, and END’s latest body of work with Cult Leader is set to release this coming Friday. One to add to this list will be the coming EP from UK unit Grief Ritual. With Spiritual Disease, the quartet explore blackened metallic hardcore, post-metal, and the heavier, slower sides of black and death metal, delivering a cocktail of miserable hard-hitting sounds that will cause carnage in a live setting.
Spiritual Disease is a relentless attack on the auditory senses, yet there is an addictive element to it. As the panic chords shriek on “Telluric“, with a side of pure aggression from the drums, the overwhelming fury is encapsulating, with several moments, including the breakdown, that could cause a chair to be thrown out the window by its sheer unadulterated rage. “Telluric” even blends a guitar solo amongst the frenzy in its closing moments to give those who’ve made it through the end a tickle on the tummy.
Following track “Atrophy” continues the siege, and together they act as the crux of the EP. Two hard-hitting anthems that demand to be seen a live setting. God willing, they will see the sort of carnage of early Malevolence shows. The surrounding tracks do not falter, yet lean towards towards the black metal side. Closer “Pareidolia” doesn’t shy away from what has already been heard, trading the mosh-inducing moments for big riffs that will leave listeners with a tired neck. Across the EP, there is a rawness and a brutality akin to US unit God’s Hate, which can be more than appreciated as catharsis in the current times we are enduring.
Despite a wealth of fellow bands and records on the up, Grief Ritual firmly manage to make their mark with Spiritual Disease. In its 20 minute run time of thumping breakdowns and vicious vocals, it will force listeners to remember its name. With this hopefully being the start of Grief Ritual’s journey, many will quietly begin to mark the unit as a band to keep an eye on going forward, and certainly one to see in a live setting.
8/10
Spiritual Disease is out this Friday, September 9th, via self-release. You can pre-order the EP here.