Ritual Moon -- black thrash from California, USA

Ritual Moon began in 2019 and hit the ground running. They issued their debut demo that same year, a split recording with California deathsters Harlequin in 2020, the debut full-length album in 2021 called Ritual Moon I, and then another song in 2021 in a split with Kentucky black metal punks Black Knife. The album Ritual Moon I is 12 songs in some 45 minutes and is the band's best and most important work so far. People call it black thrash: wrathful vocals but not super shrieky, and a hard-driving guitar with headbanging riffs and just a little bit of melody. Imagine early Bathory/Sodom/Destruction, and you kind of got yourself a good idea of the deal. The vocals are done well, the guitar is thrashy in a filthy type of way with some melody, the bass guitar rumbles and thunders under the line. The drumming beats fit the music well, but the drums (or parts of the drums) are a bit too clean for this filth. They do not like to do guitar solos, which is too bad, because the mini-solo on the sixth song "Crimson Avenger" sounds cool. The instrumental song "Dismal" shows a more melodic side. On the other hand, let's not get it twisted, Ritual Moon is a headbanging experience. They have good songs in the style, and they have a good vibe, in the sense that the music feels right on target. It's a cool start for sure, a very enjoyable and listenable album. It should be very interesting to see where things go from here.

Ritual Moon I by Ritual Moon