Ritual Dictates - No Great Loss (2022)

RITUAL DICTATES is back! Their sophomore album, No Great Loss, will be released on October 7th via Artoffact Records and with it, a dramatic shift in their sound.

Justin Hagberg elaborates on the release: “These unsettling and depressing times contributed to the change in Ritual Dictates’ sound. That, and working full time graveyard shifts in a crematorium during a global pandemic.”

When RITUAL DICTATES members Justin Hagberg and Ash Pearson decided to join forces on this project, they brought with them all of the aggressive death/thrash that defined their previous work in 3 INCHES OF BLOOD and REVOCATION, while throwing any and all convention out of the window. Their debut album, Give in To Despair, brought together black metal hallmarks like speedy tremolos and icy interludes, plus punk moments and good time rock ‘n’ roll with catchy and fun keyboard accents.

A more gothic endeavour than their previous album, this supergroup of seasoned musicians brings together past and future in a seamless fashion. No Great Loss kicks off with the funky bass line and anthemic vocals of “Burn the Widow.” “My Solitude” shifts into a soulful swaying rhythm while “Goth And Exhausted” carries us to the depths of velvet curtains and smoky nightclubs. The album wraps with “Succumbing to the Ravages of Age” with mournful and dulcet chords and lyrics that anyone growing in life can identify with.

RITUAL DICTATES is a surprising act that offers no limit to their sound exploration. Not content to rest on their laurels, the work of Hagberg and Pearson shows remarkable risk and adventure. Due out October 7th, No Great Loss isn’t merely a musical endeavour, but an artistic expression that shows artists truly cannot be defined and even the heaviest artist can cultivate a poetic aesthetic.