Let’s explore your punkish side for a change. Away from this vile metal thing that usurps yer senses to no end. You know, back to a fiery brand of rock that comes in short blurbs of hellish brutality. With lyrics that are yelled straight in your faces like one of those addle-brained drill instructors over in the US. And all of that wild clamor and brouhaha will make you call the Anger Management Hotline for assistance. But fear naught, this time it’s not true punk like this one or this one.
But first, a caveat. Whiskey Ritual‘s album art with the letter S in nazi runes and reports of this band leaning into the right-wing metal realms gave us pause. What the fuck were they thinking, right? And as always, the RMR crew doesn’t want that goddam brown sauce with our metal. Usually, we won’t go down that slippery slope of death by association, but this band’s now on a watchlist. But perhaps, it was just some mere dumb provocation gone astray. Right? RIGHT? After all, there are more current and former members of Forgotten Tomb in that band than is good for them. And these guys are known for crassly dense instigations – and general hate for the world.
Now, with that out of the way, the Italians of Whiskey Ritual and their newest terror attack called Kings just tried to slam us into dust with rough-hewn brutality. Somebody called this new record a caesura, but the band’s fare of blackened Punk Metal is still raw, chaotic, and – at the same time – annoying. As in, leaving our stone-cold heats even colder with no warming in sight, global or otherwise.
Already Kings, the title track with Extreme Metal screams that would befit an Anaal Nathrakh piece as well as that one, immediately usurped our attention. Only, it’s nowhere near the Dutch masters that really excel in brutality. Kings‘ wares come dusted in dissonance, true. And all those grinding screams roar in on fat, in-your-face tremolo riffs that will never stop. In a way, this is a pretty good Black ‘n’ Roll record with an abrasive punk problem. So, here’s to one of those rare positive points right there.
But then, maybe this IS the friggin’ problem. Because it is kinda difficult to discern the different tracks. The whole record comes along as some sort of a monolithic block that just tries to hammer you into the dust for the decidedly short 38 minutes or so of airtime. So, we got ourselves a certain lack of variety with a band that’s hellbent to shove their wares down your sore throat no matter what. And they do that with wanton brutality that – let’s face it – will either turn you away or make you yearn for more.
Yet again, their style of blackened punk is an acquired taste – no fucking doubt about it. So, if this isn’t up your usual alley, then you should probably need to take a step back. It may be too rough and dirty to touch. And – truly – there’s not much allure in that kind of slam-infested metal that even real punk will despise.
Yet again, Kings contains a few singalong tracks (Eye for an eye, for instance). And that’s pretty astonishing in a record that thrives on no-melody, fragmented, pieces of hack metal. Tracks that project a similar dumbed-down Neanderthal metal à la Wolfbastard. And the latter was actually pretty good alloy, believe it or not. In other words, Kings here is full of high-octane atrocities with obnoxious objects that explode in your face like in one of those gory scenes in B-series splatter movies. Only, the band’s nowhere near the level other adepts of the brutal metal art live up to.
Somebody called Kings one giant fucking middle finger. And this guy has got a point. I frankly can’t fathom who the band exactly wants to impress with this line of one-dimensional filth. Punk and its many derivatives have always been a contentious part of the metal multiverse. And often, the outcome is way better than its dismal reputation. Yet here, Kings always sails straight at that razor-thin edge that will either make it fall into that dark abyss to meet those Chtulhian monsters or barely survive in that metal sump full of dangerous swampy creatures. And we’re not sure where this record will finally be ending up. Now, if you excuse us, some neat slab of metal just came along that needs attention. See ya.
Record Rating: 4/10 | Label: Folter Records | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 9 December 2022