This is the third album from UK doom metal band Warning.
Rituals of Shame is Warning’s first album in 20 years. To say it’s greatly anticipated by fans of traditional doom metal is a colossal understatement. This new record contains 45 minutes of new material from this legendary act, so prepare yourself, as something special this way comes.
Rituals of Shame continues on from almost exactly where 2006’s iconic Watching from a Distance ended. It’s actually worth taking a moment to think about how unlikely that is – 20 years later, a new record that seamlessly fits in, with all of the Warning strengths intact, familiar, and greatly welcome.
The music benefits from exquisite songwriting and intimate performances. It’s classic doom metal, with raw emotion and heartfelt delivery. The singer’s vocals are as impactful and filled with feeling as you would expect from such a superlative vocalist, but the music is equally high quality alongside this. In truth, music and vocals are inseparable, deeply entwined in each other. Shrouded by a warm, bleakly personal production, Rituals of Shame is strikingly immediate in its unfeigned, unobscured sincerity.
Every aspect of Rituals of Shame drips with emotion, atmosphere, and weight. There are five songs on this record, and each one of them is an exemplar of the style, something to be studied and devoured by lesser bands in an attempt to improve their own art. For Warning, this excellence seems to come naturally, if slowly.
Put simply, Rituals of Shame is a brilliant traditional doom metal album. More than just that though, it stands out due to the emotional depth that it has. Most great doom does not carry this amount of raw hurt, pain, and sadness with it. Rituals of Shame is rich in emotive power, with affecting atmosphere, and an all-too-human fallibility.
Following a record that is widely considered an absolutely classic of the genre is not an easy thing to do, especially after two decades. Expectations are essentially unmanageable for many. With all that in mind though, Warning have achieved the unachievable. Rituals of Shame picks up from where its predecessor left off, and it’s a remarkable success.
Essential.
Wonderbox Metal 