Razed Ritual is a Thrash/Death Metal band from Washington state that adds elements of Groove Metal and Metalcore to round out a unique sound. Formed in 2008, they apparently took a break after releasing a demo, only to re-emerge in 2023 with a brutal debut full-length album, Detrimentum. Nine tracks that vary from heavy as hell to freaking brutal is what you get from this outfit. This is not for the faint of heart, don’t come here expecting to get something that will soothe your soul and give you chill vibes. By the end of this disc, you’ll be breathless and have a very sore neck. Don’t say you weren’t warned.

Band Members:

  • Bo Vigoren – Vocals
  • Alex Orth – Guitars
  • Matt Dalen – Guitars
  • Kyle Ralston – Bass
  • Aaron Hightower – Drums

October 13, 2023

Tracklist:

  1. Invictus          
  2. Ouroboros      
  3. Pulse Of Death                      
  4. Squeal            
  5. Innocent Still Burn    
  6. Wither
  7. Anti Venom
  8. Whispers Of The Wind         
  9. Plague Of Justinian

The art of the fade-in is not lost! “Invictus” brings back this piece of history that I do not hear often enough in the music of today. Even better, they let it fade back out before launching into “Ouroboros,” letting the intro fully settle into the brain before the real onslaught begins. The opening riff of “Ouroboros” is pretty good, but gets blown out of the water by the harsh scream that seems to carry on forever. I have to say, I’m a fan of that scream. It impresses me when a note can be held like that, clean or growl. The choppy riff, punctuated by the percussive hits from Aaron caught my ear on this track.

The slower intro for “Pulse Of Death” is well done, contrasting with the main rhythm of the song. Razed Ritual shows an ability to go from heavy riffing to melodic phrasing without any loss of power of performance. The shifts are clean and crisp, and everyone turns on the same spot, perfectly in step. Each song seems to have its’ own interlude of some type, showing the flexibility of style and giving an idea of just how deep the musicianship runs in this band.

Whether they hit you with the harsh riff filled with delicate lead and fill tones (“Wither”) or brutalize your ears with a massive riff/rhythm combo (“Anti Venom”), you know the tone and tempo were carefully put together to have maximum impact. There are tons of influences at play here and they use them all to their benefit. Razed Ritual creates different songs that all feel and sound coherent with each other, yet never get repetitive or overused. Each song fits the motif without getting stale. Just check out the Sludgy intro to “Whispers Of The Wind” to see what I mean. That track opens in a way unlike any other on the album, but it sounds just as “at home” as any other phrase on the album.

Razed Ritual takes a bunch of disparate tones and tempos and crafts them into a killer collection of songs that should appeal to fans of Thrash, Death, and even some Groove/Metalcore fans. So many bands get stuck in a rut; not this one. There is plenty to catch your ear and keep you entertained. This is a great album to just get into a groove with and let it run through a few times while you play your favorite game or drive down the road trying not to push too hard on the gas pedal (good luck with that one!).

MZ Ratings:

Musicianship:

  •             Guitars – 9
  •             Rhythms – 9
  •             Vocals – 9
  • Songwriting – 9
  • Production – 9

Overall – 9.00