Although Noiz Ritual certainly echoes some classic sounds, namely that of 90s grunge and 00s nu-metal, it is anything but a backwards-glancing band. Sure, everyone is influenced by what has gone before, to some degree, but of course, the art is to infuse those past sounds with the sonics of today. That is how music moves on and it has to move on, and if it doesn’t then we should prepare for a world of tribute bands and nostalgic repackaging.
And whilst there is no small echo of Pearl Jam about opener “I Wanna Know,” especially in the more subdued first part of the verses and the vocal delivery, once they ramp things up, you hear all manner of hard rock moves and even metal grooves.
But so that you don’t get lulled into a false sense of security, this is immediately followed by “Abuse Me,” which runs some, almost funk-like bass lines under a monolithic onslaught of rock power. The result is a song that comes at you with all the bombast and brashness you expect from bands working in rock realms, but it is also a song full of boogie and buoyancy. Dance-metal? Okay, maybe not. But it’s cool nonetheless.
“Feeling Death Inside” is widescreen and anthemic, and its more considered and restrained pace seems to give it more power and “Robocop” reminds me of all those classic thrash bands of the late eighties, only with a lot more poise and poignancy.
Noiz Ritual walk a perfect line between freshness and familiarity; they nod to the past whilst racing headlong into a bright new future, not only for them but for the rock genre and music in general. We need bands who can do that. We need bands like Noiz Ritual.
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