{"id":124299,"date":"2024-10-09T14:07:34","date_gmt":"2024-10-09T19:07:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/?p=124299"},"modified":"2024-10-09T14:26:08","modified_gmt":"2024-10-09T19:26:08","slug":"exclusive-track-premiere-ritual-fogs-nocturnal-suffering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/exclusive-track-premiere-ritual-fogs-nocturnal-suffering\/","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive Track Premiere: Ritual Fog’s “Nocturnal Suffering”"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Obdurate pride and steadfast hate…<\/p>\n

On November 29th, Memphis’\u00a0Ritual Fog\u00a0<\/strong>will release their debut album\u00a0But Merely Flesh\u00a0<\/em>with the inimitable Transcending Obscurity Records<\/strong>. With only a 2022 demo<\/a> also released as a short split with fellow Tennesseans Pissrot<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>under their belt, Ritual Fog somehow already feels like an old hand at the game. Members of the band have spent their time variously together and separately in acts such as Maggot Stompers Excavate<\/strong><\/a>, thrash attackers\u00a0Dawn Patrol<\/a>,\u00a0<\/strong>the unspeakably axed\u00a0Shards of Humanity<\/strong><\/a>, and the criminally under-discussed sludge\/hardcore beasts\u00a0Autolith<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong>To keep things fresher than wet green ooze irradiating your rotting cemetery, Ritual Fog brings together OSDM, thrash, and just a hint\u00a0<\/em>of whatever it is Autolith is doing, delivering a balanced, vicious, pitboss-approved record.<\/p>\n

Today, we’re stoked to premiere the album’s third single “Nocturnal Suffering.” Thus far, we’ve heard two absolute rippers in “Desolate Chasm” and “Demented Procession.” “Desolate Chasm” sets the table, with clinks so fat you have to call them clunks and the kind of riffing that will call to mind Morgoth<\/strong>‘s 1991 Cursed<\/em>. “Chaos reigns,” barks guitarist\/vocalist Ian Youngkin, invoking\u00a0Antichrist<\/em>‘s impossible-to-forget fox scene. Second single “Demented Procession” is similarly deranged, keeping us firmly planted in the roots of Morgoth\u00a0and\u00a0Death\u00a0<\/strong>while also calling to mind contemporaries\u00a0Skeletal Remains<\/strong>. Youngkin’s multifaceted vocals again raise the stakes for “Demented Procession,” giving the song a kind of crackbrained hysteria. You’re so busy following him through his varied approach that you hardly notice the fat-fisted punch of Andrew Hobday’s snares or the old school putridity of the alternating thrash, mosh, and doom riffs contained therein.<\/p>\n

With “Nocturnal Suffering,” take that combination, shake up its admixture, and see what pours forth. We’re still riding cracking snares and frantically clinking cymbals; we’re still stomping holes in the pavement to allow the “scathing and vile” OSDM fumes to bellow up from below; and we’re still being tossed around with reckless abandon by the “acerbic and gritty” thrash influences. Everything is so tightly written\u2014every twisted and twisting moment so expertly delivered\u2014that the track simply crackles with a relentless, ravenous vehemence. You barely notice the 4-minute runtime before it’s time to hit play all over again.<\/p>\n

About their latest single, the description leaves little guesswork for the listener:<\/p>\n

Nocturnal Suffering is about overthrowing heaven through the powers of hell. Using God\u2019s own creation against him. Death Metal for Death Metal.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You’ll forgive me if “Death Metal for Death Metal” calls to mind\u00a0Rival Mob<\/strong>‘s\u00a0Hardcore For Hardcore\u00a0<\/em>rallying cry. You’ll also forgive me if I am wont to quote from\u00a0Paradise Lost<\/em> as we head to Pandaemonium:<\/p>\n

Th’ infernal Serpent; he it was, whose guile<\/div>\n
Stird up with Envy and Revenge, deceiv’d<\/div>\n
The Mother of Mankind, what time his Pride<\/div>\n
Had cast him out from Heav’n, with all his Host<\/div>\n
Of Rebel Angels, by whose aid aspiring<\/div>\n
To set himself in Glory above his Peers,<\/div>\n
He trusted to have equal’d the most High,<\/div>\n
If he oppos’d; and with ambitious aim<\/div>\n
Against the Throne and Monarchy of God<\/div>\n
Rais’d impious War in Heav’n and Battel proud<\/div>\n
With vain attempt.<\/div>\n
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Of course, as Ritual Fog tells it, this war was not impious nor was the proud battle fought in vain. This is the triumph of rebel angels and of their leader, breaking free from “Adamantine chains and penal Fire” to usurp and vanquish the Omnipotent. So throw those “baleful eyes” upon the video below and hit play!<\/div>\n
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