29 Mar 2024
UsernamePassword

Remember Me? | Join | Recover
Click here to sign in via social networking

Infinity Ritual - Infinity Ritual - EP Review: Infinity Ritual

28 Jul 2022 // A review by Kev Rowland

Here we have the debut EP from New Plymouth trio Adam Colless (guitars, vocals), Jason Karam (bass, vocals, mellotron) and Mark Thomas (drums and percussion). The four songs, 23 minutes in length, show a band who are bringing together groove metal with stoner, displaying plenty of bottom end with rich distortion. Opening number, I’m Gone, hits it hard right out of the gate with crunch everywhere, from the bombastic drums through some nice basslines and powering guitars which have plenty of fuzz. This is one of those numbers that is ripe for crowd participation with beck and call response, nice energy levels and I can certainly imagine this to be an opening number at shows.

Magic 8 takes all those elements and then slows it down for the introduction, more into stoner than what went before, and one would think that Fu Manchu have been an influence, or possibly Monster Magnet as the riffs are huge. Although this EP was recorded and mixed at Rhythm Ace studios in Oakura with Sam Johnson, it was then mastered by the mighty Chris Chetland, who as always has brought the best out of the sound. There is some Mellotron on this number, an instrument far more widely thought of as being at home in prog, but just when one gets used to the atmosphere we are off like a runaway freight train which comes across as a mix of Sabbath and NWOBHM. I also wonder if they have been playing with End Boss as one can imagine that being a billing which would get a large audience as they definitely have similarities in approach. Something else I noticed for which they need to be praised is that this four-track is available on vinyl, so this means we have come to the end of Side A.

Side B starts with Underneath, and a doom introduction with a few elements of black metal before it lifts into a commercial groove metal hybrid. Adam has pedals and he is going to use them, and this song has been heavily influenced by Alien Weaponry in many ways, down to the use of some twin vocals, shouting of a few words and plenty of down-tuned enthusiasm and energy. They end with Berzerker, which again commences with powerful percussion before the rest of the band kick in. They like to use introductions to their songs, adding polish and interest to the arrangements. Overall, this is a very interesting debut EP and hopefully they will make their way up to Auckland soon.

Rating: ( 4 / 5 )
 

About Infinity Ritual

Riffs + Groove + Volume = Infinity Ritual. Groove Metal, Stoner Rock, Doom all mixed together to create something different and hard to define. Infinity Ritual is a three-piece New Plymouth band who have been creating and recording over the past two years. The debut self titled EP was released on July 29th 2022 on Vinyl, CD and Streaming services. The first track, I'm Gone was released on Friday 13th May, 2022. There is studio time booked for the next recordings early in 2023 at Rhythm Ace.




Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Infinity Ritual

Releases

II
Year: 2023
Type: EP
Infinity Ritual
Year: 2022
Type: EP

Other Reviews By Kev Rowland

Gig Review: Crushfest @ The Tuning Fork, Auckland - 07/07/2023
07 Jul 2023 // by Kev Rowland
So it was down to Tuning Fork for the first night of the second Crushfest festival. Tonight was going to be Wellington and Auckland bands, and then some of the same will be playing at the second night in Wellington next month.
Read More...
Rain - Single Review: Love and War
15 Jun 2023 // by Kev Rowland
It has been quite a while since I last heard from Wellington-based singer songwriter Cathy Elizabeth, and back then Rain was seen solely as a studio project with Cathy being accompanied by Thomas Te Taite, who provided all the instrumentation including digital drums. Now they are a full band who have been performing live, and it is the first time they have recorded as such, with Thomas now, just providing acoustic guitar (plus engineering and producing etc.
Read More...
Lost Vessels - Single Review: All This Time
01 Jun 2023 // by Kev Rowland
I must admit I was not that impressed when I first saw Lost Vessels play at Crushfest, something they later admitted to me was the worst gig of their career, but since then they have improved in leaps and bounds. This has been noticed by others on the Auckland circuit as they are getting more opportunities with better support slots, and I was not at all surprised when they won the Ding Dong Lounge Battle Of The Bands in November last year.
Read More...
Unwanted Subject - Single Review: Sons of Savages
28 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
I have caught Unwanted Subject in concert a few times over the last couple of years, and while they have been getting better each time I have seen them, I must admit that nothing prepared me for this, which right from the off is a monster. I have never heard them quite this is aggressive, nor as polished, and this multi-sectioned single sounds almost like a different band as they have pushed their metal roots to the max in this metalcore beast which sees them mixing and blending different genres to create something quite special.
Read More...
Gig Review: Stray Dogs @ AUX, Auckland - 26/05/2023
28 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
So it was back to Ding Dong Lounge on a Friday night for one of their infamous Emo nights, which tonight was a three-band bill with Stray Dogs having an extended set, supported by Altaea and then up first we had Blindr, a band new to me. Blindr are a quartet featuring Bill Caldwell (vocals, guitar), Blake Woodfield (lead guitar), Jack Power (bass), and Charlie McCracken (drums).
Read More...
Gig Review: Turkey The Bird @ The Ministry of Folk, Auckland - 27/05/2023
27 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
Back up to Auckland Guide Centre in Mount Eden tonight for my second consecutive gig (Sol suggested it was a turkey sandwich as I am at Vader tomorrow) to see Taranaki’s finest, Turkey The Bird at The Ministry of Folk. Before that we of course had Hoop, who are Al Baxter (vocals, guitar, harmonica, banjo, mandolin), Nick Edgar (vocals, guitar, ukulele, flute, harmonica), Emily Allen (violin, viola), Glenn Coldham (bass) while tonight Gary Hunt was filling in for drummer Rusty Knox.
Read More...
This Silent Divide - Single Review: Beautiful Creature
25 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
Here we have the latest single from Wellington-based melodic hard rock quartet This Silent Divide, entitled Beautiful Creature. I really enjoyed their Tall Stories EP, and they played a great gig at Dead Witch towards the end of last year, and this would have been recorded at about the same time.
Read More...
Gig Review: Emily Rice @ Your Local Coffee Roasters, Pukekohe - 24/05/2023
24 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
Earlier this week I had a message from Emily Rice asking me if I lived in South Auckland. When I responded I did, she asked if I would be interested in coming along to an event she was putting on in a coffee shop in Pukekohe to celebrate the release of her new single, Warenoa.
Read More...
View All Articles By Kev Rowland

NZ Top 10 Singles

  • WE CAN'T BE FRIENDS (WAIT FOR YOUR LOVE)
    Ariana Grande
  • BEAUTIFUL THINGS
    Benson Boone
  • END OF BEGINNING
    Djo
  • LOSE CONTROL
    Teddy Swims
  • TEXAS HOLD 'EM
    Beyonce
  • STICK SEASON
    Noah Kahan
  • PRAISE JAH IN THE MOONLIGHT
    YG Marley
  • CARNIVAL
    Kanye West And Ty Dolla $ign
  • SATURN
    SZA
  • LOVIN ON ME
    Jack Harlow
View the Full NZ Top 40...
muzic.net.nz Logo
100% New Zealand Music
All content on this website is copyright to muzic.net.nz and other respective rights holders. Redistribution of any material presented here without permission is prohibited.
Report a ProblemReport A Problem