Tampa, Florida's Cult Ritual were perhaps the most innovative hardcore band of the last ten years, and it's a shame their material has gone unnoticed for so long. 2009's LP on Youth Attack captured the band's lethal brand of hardcore packed with drone-laden, noise rock infused madness that few of their contemporaries could match then and certainly can't now. Cult Ritual seemed to play with a sense of urgency that suggested the band knew its time would be short, that something had to be expressed as clearly and directly as possible or else it would be lost forever. Although discordant, Cult Ritual's songs flowed very smoothly and the aggression and angst in each song remained focused and contained throughout. Songs like "Ugly Years" sound like the best of My War-era Black Flag without sacrificing an ounce of originality or integrity while others are eerily reminiscent of bands like Unsane and Jesus Lizard's brand of crushing riffage.Cult Ritual may have ended before their time, but the material we are left with is worth more than just a passive listen, it deserves respect and recognition for setting a new standard in hardcore.
The privileged few that saw this band live between 2006 and 2009 attested to Cult Ritual's energetic, frantic, and often dangerous performances that only continue to add to the mystique surrounding this act. What separated Cult Ritual from the pack wasn't so much their influences but the way the band managed to marry a straight forward approach to hardcore with an eclectic array of influences that allowed for various tempo changes and rhythms during rather short sections. One three minute outburst takes the listener on a ride through the familiar territories of crust and hardcore to the unfamiliar beats of sludge and unconventionally structured post-rock rhythms that few dared and still dare to track to. Cult Ritual not only ventured to this uncharted land, they built a foundation there. It's a shame that they managed to build such a structure that sheltered them from so many for so long.
-Joe