Artist: Genocidal Rites
Country: USA
Label: Hell’s Headbangers Records
Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD
Year: 2025
With a demo and three solid EP’s under their belts, it was about time that this relatively young band went for their full-length debut. And although Genocidal Rites’ latest EP came out through the smaller 18 Is 9 Records And Tapes label, this long player is presented by the revered Hells Headbangers Records, that already released the band’s second EP as well. With these guys’ previous excellent work and an outstanding label backing them up, their debut had to be a blast, and it is…
Those who have heard the band’s earlier output will recognize their tendency to change everything into a controlled whirling chaos. Glad that part of the recipe didn’t change. In fact, they even perfected that specific talent by adding some noisy elements to the mix. To accompany that noisier sound, and here comes the major difference from the older recordings, the band changed the vocal antics. With its grinding tenor, the band clearly opted for a more ferocious vocal style. The more thunderous and low-growling grunts of the EP’s are traded for higher pitched maniacal vocals that would fit well with quality Grindcore bands like Rotten Sound, Gadget or even Agoraphobic Nosebleed.
The overall rather crust punky up-beat rhythms do reveal the band’s penchant for that sort of music as well. Hells Headbangers mentions bands like Anti-Cimex, Avskum and GBH. Well, these are certainly well-chosen parallels, adding much to Genocidal Rites’ mishmash of all things loud and furious. This makes ‘Genocidal Upheaval Of Subservient Abrahamic Law’ a more diverse and overall “mature” album than the previously released short players combined.
But, to those who got a bit afraid that Genocidal Rites might be too far off from their favourite style of frenzied Black/Death Metal: no worries needed. The Grindcore and D-beat Punk influences are there and clearly palpable, they merely add to the overall experience and do not take over. By no means this qualifies as Black/Punk or anything similar, this will definitely still please the clientele of (Bestial) Black Metal.
