Feeling dirty? Chances are you don’t the meaning of the word, unless Tampa Bay natives Cult Ritual have already doused you in their brand of crust-tinged hardcore – think Black Flag, but louder, darker and an even angrier Rollins (if that’s possible). Despite being virtually unknown in the scene, the young Youth Attack band are quickly rising to prominence, with their intelligent, yet unrelentingly chaotic, approach to hardcore punk.

It’s difficult to say what separates this band from others in the scene.  While their sound is visibly (and audibly) different, the dissimilarities are so subtle at times, that one can easily be left puzzled – but like any gem in a genre, it’s truly rewarding when one can finally see what quality hardcore they’re dealing with. The album opens in a fury of noise with “Holiday”. Like a steel leviathan rearing its head from a deep slumber, ready to reign over its foes, the song alternates from rapid hardcore rhythms, to brooding, crust tempos. Much of the record is comprised of noise interludes such as in the opening track, which may serve as an annoyance to some, but add character to the swampy sound the band seems to be going for. One might wonder, “How exactly is this different from what other hardcore bands are putting out?”, but these twenty-seven plus minutes of pure madness contain so many little surprises, that Cult Ritual’s  self-titled is bound to leave listeners in awe. From the hazy noise rock sections that conclude “Horror Sale” and “Ugly Years”, to the Fugazi-esque emo progressions of “Failed”, the album is very much a tragic, yet beautiful wall of sound, and almost seems to have a heart of its own,  miserable and tortured as it may be.

Perhaps, the only thing that could be improved upon with Cult Ritual is the length, because while the majority of hardcore bands release seemingly short, to-the-point albums, a longer release would definitely compliment their style. Otherwise, one can expect to see the band in the forefront of the scene within the next few years, because few bands in the genre have created such well-written and together music for a first LP.

(7.8/10)