lowheaven: Debut Full-Length “Ritual Decay”
lowheaven - Photo by Riley Taylor
Stream lowheaven’s Ritual Decay HERE.
Ritual Decay, the flooring debut full-length from Toronto-based post-metal conjurors lowheaven, is out today on MNRK Heavy!
Ritual Decay serves as lowheaven’s visceral entry into the world, ripping straight through the wall of noise and into open ears. Pulling heavily from ‘90s influences like Cave In and Deftones, the record feels nostalgic in nature delivering ten tracks that explore the reality of complete social isolation and the acceptance of what it means to lose faith in life and yourself with technical prowess.
Of the band’s first single, “Chemical Pattern,” Kerrang championed, "smothering pop sensibilities in wailing noise and thundering riffs,” adding “it’s a glorious introduction to the band,” while New Noise lauded, “a barrage of barely contained chaos; the song explodes in a cacophony that leaves you stunned like a punch in the face.”
Of their follow-up single, "Mercy Death,” MetalSucks celebrated a, “...more prog metal, post-hardcore offering. 'Mercy Death' has a fuzzy electronic-induced undertone to it, and its vocals present as distorted, yearning echoes."
Snaggletooth Rock ‘N’ Roll hails a record that “balances melodic tension with throat-ripping fury, triple-guitar chaos, and enough mood swings to scare your therapist.” Out Of Rage concurs, calling the record, "an extraordinary achievement. It sounds stunning and frankly marks lowheaven out as a truly special act indeed. The material may be bleak, but their future is ironically bright," while Everything Is Noise elaborates eloquently, "lowheaven put foot to ass for Ritual Decay, their first LP and strongest statement of intent yet as they howl at various voids that plague us all... For ten tracks, they want you to wallow and mope, contort and drag your hands across your face just as they did while producing them under tense and deprived circumstances. It’s hard to call an album like this fun, but when it sounds this nice and well-constructed, the contradiction is part of the point because if you have to feel bad, you might as well have a great mirror of a soundtrack to accompany it. This LP’s bold and unapologetic with how it feels, scraping together what sense of goodness and decency in presentation it can to remind us that at the end of the day, this is art and it’s meant to reflect what and who we are."
Stream lowheaven’s Ritual Decay HERE.
Watch lowheaven’s previously released video for “Chemical Pattern” HERE, “Mercy Death” HERE, and “Amherst” HERE.
Ritual Decay was produced by Brett Romnes (Boston Manor, Hot Mulligan) and mastered by Mangus Lindberg.
The record is available now on CD, LP, and digital formats. Find orders at THIS LOCATION.
Formed in the Spring of 2020, beneath the dark clouds of the COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home orders, lowheaven is Dan Thomson (vocals/guitar), Mikey Buchta (vocals/bass), Alex Pley (guitar/keys), and Pat Pajak (guitar). Their sound oscillates somewhere between post-hardcore, screamo, blackened noise, and metal. They’re not quite genreless, rather, a band that blends genres so thoroughly that they are better characterized by their distinctive emotional intensity than by any one label. Thomson, formerly of Canadian post-hardcore band Sparrows, explains candidly, “We’re not a happy listen. lowheaven is something that has got a lot of weight.”
Following the dissolution of his previous band and the mandated COVID-19 isolation, the very foundations of Thomson’s identity crumbled. Several unfortunate medical diagnoses led to a great deal of change, many of which would alter his life forever.
Similarly, each of the bandmates experienced a great deal of grief at the start of 2020, whether that be the sudden loss of relationships or dramatic changes in circumstance. The culmination of these seismic shocks were five full notebooks of lyrics grappling the line between self-hatred and forgiveness. In an effort to maintain this elevated emotional state, Romnes had the band record both Ritual Decay and lowheaven’s debut EP, Collapse, in a centuries old New Jersey church. Romnes’ intensity allowed the band to retap into their darkest emotions. According to the band, “everything that could be done to bring out performances or emotions was immediately on the table.” This meant watching David Cronenberg and various other horror films at all hours of the day on a television in the church. Specifically, the brutal and psychological nature of films like Cronenberg’s Crimes Of The Future and Julia Docournau’s Titane not only helped to set the tone for the recording process, but also to directly influence the final versions of the songs themselves. Many nights, the band members were only sleeping four or five hours and channeling this exhaustion into the hopelessness of the music.
lowheaven:
Dan Thomson – vocals, guitar
Mikey Buchta – vocals, bass
Alex Pley – guitar; keys
Pat Pajak – guitar
For lowheaven coverage contact liz@earsplitcompound.com.
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lowheaven - Ritual Decay
MNRK Music Group
About MNRK Music Group:
MNRK Music Group is one of the largest independent music companies in the world, operating in every major music market. MNRK is committed to discovering and guiding top music creators and artists plus distributing premier music companies Dualtone Music Group and Last Gang. Its catalog across divisions consists of 65,000 music tracks, including multiple GRAMMY winners and platinum-selling hits.
Earsplit PR | Liz Ciavarella-Brenner | www.earsplitcompound.com
