Ritual Howls * Ruin [Neon Green Vinyl LP]

The dark spell of Ritual Howls’ sixth album, Ruin, is cast in the first moments of lead single, “Follow the Sun”, as the clarion call of Paul Bancell’s reverberating guitar is anchored by the pulsing kick and flitter of Chris Samuels’ drum programming and the snarl of Ben Saginaw’s taut, fuzzed-out bass groove. More than a decade into their career, the trio continues to refine its nuanced alloy of industrial, goth, and post-punk to a new level of all-consuming fullness, and more than ever, the results embody the contrasts they have become known for, at once hauntingly bleak but kinetically catchy, intimately raw but tantalizingly mysterious.

Hailing from Detroit since their foundation, the band have always loosely incorporated elements of old school rave culture in their work, yielding a deeply physical experience from their heavy, brooding, melodic, and meticulous constructions. After their last outing (2023’s Virtue Falters), Bancell relocated to Los Angeles, and much of Ruin came together over the wires, culminating in a series of intensive recording sessions with long-time sound engineer Adam Cox back in Michigan. “It started with Chris presenting musical ideas – beats, melodies, sounds, riffs – and a couple of complete tracks; he and Ben would get together and jam, and I contributed some guitars remotely,” he notes. Fundamentally unchanged by distance, Ritual Howls operate as a truly collaborative unit, and Ruin provides abundant, undeniable proof that they remain at the top of their game.