Ritualz – Doom

Ritualz is a name reminding us of a time of experimentation and new music. During the early 2010s the witch-house movement took a hold of underground scene, mixing chopped hip-hop rhythms, industrial and dark elements, ethereal and/or altered vocals, conjuring an often dreamy, if not acid, soundscape marking a new view of music. Grounded in the post-internet era, it was inspired aesthetically by occult and horror, as well as by 80’s and 90’s pop culture; usually the names of the projects linked to the genre had unicodes, in order to keep it “real”, aiming to stay an underground phenomenon. It partially succeeded, but it’s influence has touched even the mainstream music, both graphically and musically, and by the time many new bands were born. Then, suddenly, with the resurgence of old-school EBM and the rise of techno industrial, it seemed it gradually returned in the darkness, even if it never really disappeared completely.

One of the main names in the genre was Ritualz itself, the project of Mexican producer Juan Carlos Lobo Garcia. Many self-released cassettes and digital works, as well as a collaborative effort with Fostercare, shown the world his experimental vision in which rap, trance, synth-pop, witch house, and much more, collided with each others giving us a blending sounding at the same time urban and atavistic, slow and fast. Since 2014 the project disappeared from map after the compilation Outworld music was published, but now it returns with a new sound staying at the same time true to its roots. Doom is the name of the new effort licensed by Artoffact Records, an album based on a darker sound indebted to darkwave, post-punk, electro-industrial, and of course witch-house influences; we have at the same time something new and a coherent evolution of his sound.

Our journey starts with Trash mental, a distorted post-punk inspired affair full of gloomy atmospheres, decadent but epic vibes and almost ethereal refrains. Juan voice is very close to his days in the field of witch-house, and chopped rhythms and dark elements still dominate the backbone of the music. To Black guides us in a synth-pop track not far from the style of Mr Kitty, evocative and at the same time minimal. It develops a sentimental crescendo, crowned by a melancholic session full of pathos.

Echoes fuses industrial rhythms and dreamy soundscapes, adding in his slow building orchestral elements and noisy effects, achiving a cosmic majesty, before erupting into post-punk number. Lust eternal chooses a lysergic sound close to darkwave and electro-goth, a track which we can consider a dancefloor episode without losing all the atmospheric qualities of the album.

The closing song The last of us is maybe the most theatrical moment of the work, a creepy and dark affair where piano sounds, slow rhythms and ethereal elements concur to an enthralling piece which uses many of the most important elements of the album, a fitting end encapsulating all the strong qualities of Doom.

All in all, a really well crafted “restart” for the project, nourished by its past, but aiming to be a contemporary work of “dark electronics”. The dark and eerie atmosphere is the main link for the different tracks, where a plethora of influences are displayed without ever going in the pastiche territory. The global vision of the artist and the apt production guarantee a coherent effort which we hope will be followed by more. A pleasurable listening experience for the dark soul.

Rating: 8

Label: Artoffact Records