We all get a little too comfortable sometimes both with what we do and what we consume. For the most part there is nothing wrong with that because most of us have a lot of other things occupying our minds, so it’s not always easy to push ourselves. Bands and records that do that for us can be a gift as we just need to let those forces into our minds and have them begin to stretch us.

“Caverns of Occultic Hatred” is the first full-length record from Liam McMahon-helmed Vile Ritual, and if you’re willing to leave your comfort zone when it comes to death metal, this might be the perfect journey for you. With eight tracks spread over 40 minutes, McMahon makes the most of the time here, creating a cavernous, at times unsettling journey through your psychosis and deep into your guts. Following on what was built with this project’s smaller, introductory releases, Vile Ritual dig deeper into your brain, scooping out the cobwebs from your skull and making you see this twisted art form in a way most other acts don’t tread. It’s an experience, and a scarring one.

“Formless” opens in a low rumble and moves into cavernous noise as burly death begins to rain down, battering as guitars just go off. Sludgy tracking and steamy air help wilt while disorienting playing makes heads spin as riffs zap, and everything is swallowed in miasmal echo. “Aimless” brings welling guitars before growls slide under and are buried by force, the playing acting as a battering ram. Ferocity becomes a greater factor as monstrous jaws open, the guitars grind hard, and minds melt, the battering working away until everything is overcome by noise. “Gyromancy” is clobbering and devastating, a properly dizzying experience that whips heavily as the pressure builds. The power continues to sweep as the playing mauls, growls smear, and a vicious streak robs you of breath and leaves you heaving. “Chapel” is humid as it starts, growls echoing and marring, the riffs attacking with great power. There’s a strange sense of mysticism that unfolds as the guitars numb, everything slipping into eeriness.

“Manifestation” feels strange and disorienting, the synth cloud spreading and infecting before the power truly kicks in and unloads damage. Growls slither before whispering haunts, and the playing slowly torches, making the burning sink in deeply. Sounds reverberate and hang in the air, everything fading into a halo of buzzing. “Black Chrism” assaults with swirling guitars and oppressive heat, totally battering your psyche. The filth increases and eats into your brain, ripping muscle from bone, overcoming with a short burst of devastation that buries hope in the dirt. “Living Hell” just bludgeons, the growls engorging, bashing away and sizzling with static. After basking in mud, the track tears apart, cavernous blazing spilling blood, the growls laying down burly punishment and laying waste in pain and power. Closer “Void” instantly goes for broke, the playing openly burning, growls adding to festering wounds. The growls menace as the drumming completely explodes, laying waste and picking bodies apart, cosmic keys dawning and dragging everything into the cosmos.

Vile Ritual have that rare ability to expose minds to new possibilities while also dousing psyches with acid, eating away at vital impulses. “Caverns of Occultic Hatred” is a force with which to content both mentally and physically, a chaotic challenge that leaves you vulnerable and soaking with pain. This is music that rises above the mere metallic strains it unleashes on an unsuspecting world; it’s a mental beast that knows how to take you apart and does it unapologetically.

For more on the band, go here: https://vileritual.bandcamp.com/

To buy the album, go here: http://sentientruin.com/releases/vile-ritual-caverns-of-occultic-hatred

For more on the label, go here: https://vileritual.bandcamp.com/