Review: Ritual Howls - Rendered Armor
April 17, 2019
Ritual Howls - Rendered Armor
Ritual Howls hails from Detroit playing that goth-y and industrial noise we've all come to know and love. Being a person that lurks on the outskirts of local music scenes here in the mitten, goth is becoming a popular commodity, feeding the masses the darkness the city of Detroit yearns for.
Beyond the cliches of goth music, Ritual Howls personify the blight and abandonment of the nation's most notorious legacy city, Detroit. Detroit, once being a main hub for various industries, most the automotive industry, is nothing but a ghost of what it used to be. Brownfield sites, boarded up houses, and relics of Detroit's industrial past occupy the city and metro areas. After painting that picture, it's no surprise that dark music is coming out of the Detroit and it's metro areas.
Anyways, back the new album. Ritual Howls brings to us their 4th full length album on Felte. 8 tracks of bleak, industrial, electronic goth. This album is by far not their darkest or moodiest album. To me it has a more pop-sensibility, which is refreshing in my opinion. Every song is catchier than the last and with only 8 tracks, it leaves you wanting more. Thankfully the band is extremely active in regarding to tour and releases a new Ep or album every year, so we can just assume more tunes are on their way.
After following the band the past few years, it's been exciting hearing their progression. They've honed in on a sound that is truly theirs within the umbrella of genres they're associated with. In my opinion, this should always be the goal as musicians. Remaining stagnant with music is a disease, worse than the post-industrial structural abandonment of Detroit. I tip my proverbial hat to these folks for the great music and all the success!