Unholy Hell Fucking YES! The new self-titled DEATH RITES album (release date May 9th) rocks harder than 666 tons of granite!!! I will go on record and say that this record will rank high AF on our end of the year list, because it’s that fucking good! If you like your Metal laced with Real Aggro Punk, you will be all over this like maggots on rotting flesh. The roaring riffs you will encounter while listening to songs like “Heavy Artillery” and “Total Devastation” will have you howling at the moon. The raw passion that this band put into every second of this collection of Death Hymns is beyond impressive. Imagine if Discharge, Sacrilege, Venom, Crucifix, Motörhead, Tank, and OZ came together to form the ultimate sonic killing machine — this is the cloth that this DEATH RITES album is cut from.
I remember the first time Ric Clayton of No Mercy played Slayer in his bedroom around 1983, my mind was melted. The same sort of feeling came over me as I lost myself in the rad tune that is “Dead Zone.” The way that this DEATH RITES record is mixed is perfect for the story that the band tells. The unreal breakdowns they execute will leave you fucking speechless. Real talk, they make me super happy to call myself an LA native. With everything that is happening around the world, I need music like this in my life so that I don’t lose my fucking mind.
Damn, the vocalist spits out verbal fire that burns my eardrums with audio joy. On the musical tip, they have manifested sonic temples of destruction that are so freaking thrilling! There is nothing contrived about DEATH RITES; they bleed their rage, and that is evident on every song!
Their West Coast tour starts on May 9th, and if you go to one show this year, make sure you catch them live. I want the band to know that they totally pushed my wig back and can’t wait to see them at the BETTER THINGS TO DO in Vancouver on May 15th-17th.
