ALBUM REVIEW: Nomadic Rituals - "Marking the Day"

By: Andre Almaraz

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 17/02/2017

Label: Independent

This is the heaviest thing I've heard in a while. Hopeless, ugly, vicious, and pissed off slabs of soul destroying death-doom is what we get here. This music makes me want to burn down my neighborhood and wallow in the remaining sludgy aftermath.

“Marking the Day” CD//DD track listing:

1). From Nothing

2). Expansion

3). Far From the Sun

4). Watching the Cycles

5). Narrow of the Light

6). Face Down in the Sea of Oblivion

The Review:

Nomadic Rituals is a three piece band from Belfast, United Kingdom. This album is my first introduction to them and I am quite impressed. The new record is called "Marking the Day," and is scheduled to be released on February 17th, 2017.  The music captured here is for people who are into the dirtiest and raunchiest purveyors of sludgy, death-doom. Fans of Noothgrush, Indian, Serpentine Path, and Morbid Evils should definitely check this out immediately. The first track, "From Nothing," slowly eases the listener in and serves as a fitting introduction to what unfolds on the rest of the album's six unrelenting tracks, which ultimately clock in at a mammoth sixty minutes total running time.

The second track, "Expansion," has some nice chug and groove going on, and is slightly reminiscent of early Celtic Frost hooks. On the third track, "Far From the Sun," the song begins with a brief and extremely tasteful use of ultra low, Tibetan monk/gregorian chant style of clean vocals making this one a standout of the album for me. These vocals are very adequately executed and suits the band well to contrast and accent everything else, in my opinion. On track four, "Watching the Cycles," we are given a little room to breathe as this one is loaded with plenty of big chords left to ring out, hum, feedback, and fade away. The fifth track, "Narrowing of the Light," sees the band getting back to the land of chug. It has quite a bit of repetition and an almost mechanical and dissonant feel throughout most of it's eight minutes in length, which to my ears serves as a nod to the almighty Godflesh.

The sixth and final track, "Face Down in the Sea of Oblivion," is a true behemoth. It starts off with the return of those amazing clean vocals which we were teased with in track three, plus adds a velvety dream sequence drum and bass breakdown right before a slithering, harmonious guitar solo sweeps in to take the spotlight and usher in the end of the song. At fourteen and a half minutes, this is the grand finale that the entire preceding works have been preparing us for, to behold its gargantuan unravelling. It is our final journey into the everlasting darkness of the abyss.

All in all, I think this is a great album. The overall tone of the recording is massive and thunderous. The vocals range from being predominantly harsh and scornful to clean and ethereal in a couple of small doses. This is the heaviest thing I've heard in a while. Hopeless, ugly, vicious, and pissed off slabs of soul destroying death-doom is what we get here. This music makes me want to burn down my neighborhood and wallow in the remaining sludgy aftermath. The album is currently available for pre-sale on the artist's bandcamp page and I highly recommend you pick up a copy of this bad boy.

“Marking The Day” is available to preorder/buy here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook