Mailed, Nailed and Failed

In honor of the first day of summer, the shortest night of the year and the summer solstice, I thought I would mention the new Cult Ritual LP rather that the usual rituals of lighting bonfires or some other Pagan tradition.
First off, all hype aside, Cult Ritual deserves the praise that everyone seems to be heaping upon them. I checked out their interview in the latest MRR, and it shed a lot of light on their vision of the band, record prices, other projects, goals...basically everything under the sun. I suggest if you dig them or hate them, you give it a read. Sincerity is a must, and Cult Ritual is straight up in what they are doing.

One of the usual first comparisons made with Cult Ritual usually has to do with Black Flag. Without listening to a note, its hard to miss. Looking at the MRR cover, it looks like a young Henry Rollins and somewhere in the interview, its mentioned that Dan lives in a shed when he is not touring, very reminiscent of Rollins' home at one point. There are parts of the LP that definitely sound like Black Flag, mainly due to the very Greg Ginn-like guitars. However, there are other parts that sound completely different, making the LP kind of all over the map. There are long breaks, noisy feedback that goes on at length, which definitely provides the LP with some diversity, but it feels a little uneven. I will definitely listen to it a few more times and there are some parts that I really dig, but there are some other parts, that make me feel like it was a stretch to make this a full length. Still, I respect what they are doing and was glad to pick it up and support a band that is out there doing it with the right intentions. Experimentation isn't always a bad thing. I don't know, that's my take, but I feel like most people will have their minds made up as to whether or not they will pick it up, regardless of what people have to say in regards to the sounds.