EP REVIEW: I Found Myself In The Dark – Rituals

Winning a competition hosted by Kerrang! Radio where the prize is an opening slot at the fabled Download Festival is quite the boost for a band. After playing to a packed tent in June, Newcastle upstarts RITUALS then faced the prospect of capitalising on the hype and keeping their legions of new fans invested. Fortunately for them, their prize also included recording time at Marshall Studios, and I Found Myself In The Dark is the fruit of their hard-won labour.

Theirs is a sound that allows many facets of modern metal to congregate cohesively and makes them tough to pigeonhole. Across these three tracks, they use synthesised riffs a la NINE INCH NAILS, soaring melodies you’d expect from KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, and arena-filling roars you once would have expected of Winston McCall. In case the name didn’t tip you off, I Found Myself In The Dark tackles themes of mental struggles, global nihilism and personal growth and these weighty subjects are underpinned by broad riffs and thick tones. Vocalist Lewis MacRae puts on an elastic performance that covers soft melodies and harsh barks that he can call upon as and when needed and is deeply impressive.

Occasionally, I Found Myself In The Dark can be a little too on-the-nose, the messages crushingly heavy handed, as if The Angel Of The North has been dropped on your head. The title track in particular lacks subtlety and feels like something we could have heard a hundred times before. As an EP on the whole though, I Found Myself In The Dark is an accomplished sign of things to come from RITUALS as they continue working toward a debut full-length. The pieces are in place, they just need to find the glue that makes it all stick. If they can do that, they’ll be a very frightening prospect indeed.

Rating: 7/10

I Found Myself In The Dark is out now via Marshall Records.

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