SADISTIC RITUAL are today premiering their new single, Murmur, and its accompanying visualizer via Invisible Oranges. Murmur is the second track to be taken from the psychedelic thrash group's upcoming album, The Enigma, Boundless, which is set for release via Prosthetic Records on May 20.
WATCH THE VISUALIZER FOR MURMUR VIA INVISIBLE ORANGES HERE.
Speaking on the premiere, SADISTIC RITUAL's Joe Sweat (drums) comments:
"Murmur
is dedicated to a psychedelic experience from my youth. During this trip (which was the combination of LSD and mushroom tea), I lost the ability to differentiate reality from “fantasy”. What felt like an old memory had turned into a dark journey inwards. Somewhere between waking life and sleep I was given visions of nuclear war, death squads, and this nameless/formless malice. Whatever it was felt as if it were showing me the dominance it had over this world. Taunting my soul and seeking me out. It’s surveillance was limitless.
"It’s dominion fed by the dark ritual of war and humanity as the fodder, the sacrificial lamb so to speak. The song is testament to the grim nature of our reality and occult forces that hold power."
SADISTIC RITUAL’s debut album, Visionaire of Death, was previously described by Decibel as ‘a fearsome thrash ripper’, whilst other publications levelled comparisons to the likes of Kreator, Watain, and Sodom. The 2019 album was released after honing their craft - on the road and in the studio - and refining the vision that Charlie Southern (guitar and vocals) first brought to life back a decade prior.
SADISTIC RITUAL delivers classic thrash licks in spades, set against a backdrop of chugging, headbang-worthy tunes. The accessibility of their songs - which will delight metalheads across subgenres - belies the thought and consideration that goes into each element of SADISTIC RITUAL. Their strong DIY ethic means everyone’s getting their hands dirty along the way, and allows each member to play to their strengths. In the case of guitarist, Alex Parra, that includes notching up production credits on the recording of The Enigma, Boundless, Arthur Rizk (Power Trip, Tomb Mold, Venom Prison) was brought in to master the album.
With a disdain for authority, and themes of real world horrors - specifically spiritual and political fears being confronted - running through the album, there’s a dark and sometimes paranoid undercurrent to the lyrical content on The Enigma, Boundless, penned by Southern and drummer, Joe Sweat. Throw in an affection for LSD and the psychedelic part of ‘psychedelic thrash’ starts to become further apparent. The Enigma, Boundless was written, recorded, and ritualized under the dystopian schism that was 2020 - and arrives here in 2022 to annihilate the fallacies of a fabricated reality.
The distinctive album art was crafted through a collaborative process between artist Erica Frevel and Sweat, who shared themes, ideas and creative directions to guide her visual representations. Bassist LaMar George worked on the album layout, making the presentation of the overall album aesthetic a truly collaborative effort - and an accurate depiction of SADISTIC RITUAL in 2022.