Death metal doesn’t have to just be about gore and horrors, guts and coffins. I mean, it’s pretty fun when it’s that way, but the subgenre has gone well past the graveyards and deep into space and elsewhere, so the boundary pushing is what’s keeping it exciting. The good stuff can be almost trancelike, letting your consciousness go elsewhere.
Pittsburgh death horde Ritual Mass have the brutality down to a science, but their aspirations lie beyond that, which they prove on their mesmerizing debut full-length “Cascading Misery.” Not that their ambition is something new, as anyone who has seen them live or indulged in their 2019 EP “Abhorred in the Eyes of God” can attest. It’s that creating these six cuts obviously unlocked something morbidly adventurous in the band—vocalist/bassist/synth player N. Dudash, guitarist/backing vocalist P. Trona, guitarist R. Mauck, drummer G. Austin. These 41 minutes are horrifying for sure but also challenge the listener to find things inside of them that are more unsettling and not of this world.
“Obsidian Mirror” starts with synth beams that feel like they’re invading from another realm, and then the leads stir and the vocals scar, driving a wedge between realities. A furious pace erupts that amplifies the brutality, the pace eventually slowing some before a smearing, blurring finish. “Immeasurable Hell” has guitars snarling and blazing, howls menacing, and smoke rising dangerously. The pace jars before hypnotic leads bleed under the door, the chugging feeling causing bones to ache before everything ends in psychedelic torture. “Looming Shapeless Entity” begins with a steamrolling tempo, the guitars boiling and disorienting, vicious howls blending in with the uncomfortably humid air. Leads moan as the growls retch, the heat becoming insurmountable as you struggle for fresh air.
The title track attacks, raw growls digging under fingernails, gargantuan riffs flexing and making things uncomfortable. As the track goes on, the leads insert the knife and twist, devastating as the chugging pace pummels, and a relentless low end suffocates. “Frozen Marrow,” which is a nice treat on a warm day, is mucky as hell, guitars mangling, the speed hulking as the bass chews. It’s a smashing machine aiming for any healthy limb you have left, guitars marring as a synth cloud envelopes and poisons. Closer “Disquiet” runs 14:32, and it starts in doomy waters, disorienting and landing relentless blows, the roars crushing as the playing turns maniacal. Guitars steam as the mid-section plays tricks with your mind, going clean, dreamy, and a bit surreal. The beast slowly emerges from the darkness and tears into you, the roars rampage, and a pit of corrosion disintegrates bones and leaves a sticky mess behind.
“Cascading Misery” is a record that’s plenty brutal, but Ritual Mass’ goal doesn’t appear to just be creating horrific music for times that match. This is immersive, psychological, and pathological, a record that works as hard on your mind as it does your ears. As a true coming-out party for this band, this album could not be more intense and unforgiving, allowing almost no time to prepare or take a meaningful breath.
For more on the band, go here: https://ritualmass.bandcamp.com/
To buy the album, go here: https://www.20buckspin.com/ritualmass
For more on the label, go here: https://www.20buckspin.com/
Meat Mead Metal 