Meet: Northern metallers Rituals

Rituals are an exciting new band on the metal scene who have just released their EP ‘Awake’. We caught up with the band to find out who they are and how that EP came to fruition.

First off. How are you guys doing now that we are hopefully seeing the end of the current situation? How has the pandemic affected the band? Any messages for your fans?

The pandemic for us has given a chance to focus on the band and write new material that we feel is our strongest yet! Of course we have missed going out and playing live, but we can now do that with a set list of all new songs we are confident in! We want to say thank you to everyone who has checked us out and had Rituals become part of their life.

For people who may not be familiar with the band. Can you introduce us to the band and tell us a little about how you formed and why you chose the style that you play?

Lewis and Ewan started the band back in 2018 after meeting in college. Originally Rituals had a sound that was leaning much more on hard rock as opposed to metal, but over time the music became heavier to where it is now. We feel we are continuously developing our sound and pushing ourselves into new directions to make sure our sound is never predictable.

How does a track develop within the band? Where do you get your inspirations from? Is it a group effort or do you guys start with a riff or a lyric?

The songs start with Ewan sending a full demo to everyone, and from there our new drummer Matt and Dom add their spin on the drum and bass parts as well as arrangements. Lewis will then lay down some scratch vocals and him and Ewan will sit through and tweak until the parts are as good as they can be.

Your new EP has a nice variety to the tracks featured on it. What was the reason for picking these tracks?

We wanted to showcase as many different sides to our sound as possible, whether that’s the melody in BLINDING TO ME, or the frantic energy and heaviness of CARVED OUT both those elements hold an important place in the Rituals sound.

When it comes to playing live do you have any favourite venues? How much does playing live mean to you guys coming out of the pandemic?

We recently played the Fulford arms in York and loved it so we hope to be back there soon! Newcastle venues such as Anarchy Brewery where we had our EP release show as well as Little Buildings are among others we love.

I have read your views on buying bands merchandise and its equivalent to streams. How do you feel about the consumption of music being so heavily on the side of streaming rather than physical? Do you feel you have had better exposure because of it?

As you mentioned streaming has become the main way music is consumed, which has definitely helped us reach an audience quicker and makes it easier for us to continue to grow with related artists sections etc, the main reason a lot of bands unfortunately have to stop is due to the lack of money in the industry for smaller bands. There needs to be a change that looks after young up and coming bands and encourage them to continue to release music.

Outside of music, what do you guys like to do? What keeps you busy?

In all honesty the band is everything to us and every chance we get outside of our jobs is spent on how we can better the band and continue to grow Rituals.

Are there any bands past or present you would love to have played with or even been part of? Is there a particular band that got you into music?

We would love to play with the bands who have played a major part in influencing us, bands like Bury Tomorrow, Architects, Bleed From Within and Beartooth.

It’s Difficult to talk about future plans, but what does the future look like?

Future for us is continuing to release new music over the next year, we begin recording towards the end of the year, and we are really excited with the songs we have!

Lastly, what music are you digging right now? Any bands or artists you think deserve a little more recognition?

There’s a UK based band called Black Coast who we are all really into, they have such a cool atmosphere and vibe to there music, and know how to write a big riff.

Check out the bands track ‘Awake’, below: