Artist: Warning
Country: United Kingdom
Label: Relapse Records
Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD
Year: 2026
Let’s go back to late 2006/ early 2007. The British band Warning released their sophomore record titled ‘Watching from a Distance’. An album that, judging by the reviews on pages of frequently used Metal sources such as Metal Archives, divided opinions to say the least. An album that some hated, but others truly and deeply embraced. I’m not here to justify why the slow and heavy music with a distinct clean vocal style is not for everyone, but without a doubt I count myself in the lovers category. ‘Watching from a Distance’ evolved into an album that is more than music to me. It’s pure emotion of the times merged into a musical soundtrack, a deeply emotive Doom Metal journey back in time through reliving memories. Even though I can’t always bare to listen to it, it is my undisputed favorite album of all time. A status only swollen by the band’s dissolution and absence from view. The absence that is now ended with a return, to live stages but even more so, by the arrival of the band’s third album ‘Rituals of Shame’.
In the 20 years since the release of ‘Watching from a Distance’ things haven’t exactly stood still, at least not for the members involved in Warning. Most notable has been the activity of vocalist and songwriter Patrick Walker, both as a solo artist and with the band that many embraced as a spiritual follow-up to Warning, 40 Watt Sun. That band was never truly intended as a continuation, and musically the band shifted towards a more open and explorative, less emotionally heavy sound with much more emphasis of Patrick Walker’s impressive vocal capabilities. With four albums released, 40 Watt Sun far surpassed the productivity of Warning and therefore it seems inevitable that some of the light of 40 Watt Sun has bled into this new Warning album.
Yet at the heart of it all, ‘Rituals of Shame’ is no doubt a more obvious follow-up of ‘Watching from a Distance’ than 40 Watt Sun ever was. Those slow melodies that made ‘Watching from a Distance’ such a Doom Metal masterpiece are scattered all over the new record and in a way, the album has an immediate sense of familiarity. But certainly the passage of time has had it’s influence on the Warning sound. The number of riffs is slightly more dense, opting for more variation in riffs as opposed to the rather uniform and dragged out approach on ‘Watching from a Distance’. While at times the music is incredibly emotional, it feels that ‘Rituals of Shame’ has slightly less weight. This is in part due to a more polished production, a purposeful change as the band wasn’t entirely happy with how the end product sounded on ‘Watching from a Distance’. But the main evolution of Warning to me is in the vocals. The pure emotion in Patrick Walker’s voice has been there since the earliest beginnings and is a large part of what makes the band unique. In the years of absence of Warning, his vocal capacities have only increased, and it feels that ‘Rituals of Shame’ is therefore mostly a more vocal-centred album than what ‘Watching from a Distance’ was. From a raw emotional restraint, to a more open and varied spectrum of powerful vocal lines. Thus, strictly a better album musically and vocally, but does that make it a better album as a whole?
This is where the band will once again divide opinions of the lovers of Warning. Those that have been waiting impatiently since Warning ceased to be, indulging themselves in the splendor of 40 Watt Sun and embracing the rebirth of the band, will be elated by ‘Rituals of Shame’. It is, after all, the culmination of development through 40 Watt Sun molded into the riff and pace style of Warning. It is an impressive feat, and the album is highly memorable in its vocal lines and guitar melodies. But there’s also the camp in which I count myself, those that have elevated ‘Watching from a Distance’ to such mythical proportions that no follow-up could ever touch it. I miss the more stripped down structures, the pure emotion and the more restrained vocal approach with sporadic outbursts. Nonetheless, I’m happy the band is back. For those that can continue their journey with them, ‘Rituals of Shame’ will be viewed as a masterpiece. As for me, I’m content to forever be bound to the perfection that is ‘Watching from a Distance’.
