"Ritualist" is beautiful no matter the genre they are defying. The way the vocals sit is incredible. The guitar makes a swathe of sound closer to what you expect from a post-rock band, while the bass and drum keep a downtrodden doomy pulse. The album's harshest moment yet comes with " As My Heart Rots" which finds them not only lashing out but tapping into some deep emotional unrest. They take another turn toward black metal on "Circle Down". This is black metal by way of screamo.
Then on the last song, they prove they can just straight-up write catchy weird indie rock flavor screamo. The overall songwriting is even more refined. It's not as accessible as what Deafheaven did with "Sunbather" but they could win over the same demographics if put in front of larger audiences. Though none of this is contrived or thought out from a marketing perspective by a record label this is just where they are, perhaps even angrier than the previous album though there is a wide range of emotional colors being used here. I will give this album a 10.
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