As a fan of just about every style of death metal (except for brutal/tech death - that garbage can fuck right off) I was plenty excited once the first few seconds of "Void of Chaos" had passed and I was engulfed in some frenzied tremolos that took me back to when I began exploring the American death metal scene. In today's landscape, there just aren't too many (worthwhile) bands embracing the style of acts like Malevolent Creation, Sinister, Morpheus Descends, etc; rather, there are hundreds of groups who emulate the same Swedish monsters or those who worship at the altar of John McEntee, but Ritual Torture is luckily not one of them. Instead, this San Diego death brigade brandishes their riffs and abrasive style of music in tune with the style of the aforementioned bands, leaving no room for atmospheric melodies or suffocating passages that invoke dread and doom, leaving plenty of room for absolute annihilation and havoc that would make the Floridian/New York masters proud.
The first of the two tracks "The Poison City" is one hell of a violent song. The wicked tremolo bursts are all created in the vein of Deicide and Immolation, as they're punishing and bleak all the same, allowing the listener to digest the harsh growls and thrashy riffs that weave in and out of the ancient stylings terrifically. The title track conveys the name of the EP perfectly, as the song is undeniably chaotic. The riffs range from blistering tremolo passages to headbanging onslaughts that owe their existence to legendary records like "Retribution" and "Diabolical Summoning," all the while there are meandering, yet melodic riffs that accompany the pummeling percussion for a varied bunch of styles in one song. The only complaint that I can make about "Void of Chaos" is that it's only two songs in length. Other than that, though, I fully expect for these Californians in Ritual Torture to accomplish bigger and much more extreme things in their bright future as they provide a perfect alternative to the other styles of death metal that have become prevalent in 2012.
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Highlights
"The Poison City"
"Void of Chaos"
Final Rating
4.2/5 or 84%.