{"id":644198,"date":"2026-06-17T21:59:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T21:59:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/644198\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T21:59:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T21:59:09","slug":"warning-rituals-of-shame-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/644198\/","title":{"rendered":"Warning – Rituals of Shame Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Few luminaries in metal can suckerpunch you right in the feels quite like Patrick Walker of 40 Watt Sun and the legendary Warning. Seriously, he could be singing to you about proper chinchilla care, and many would be left a sobbing, blubbering mess as he caterwauls about what treats and bathing clay to get for your new furry little friend. If you need proof of this, go give 2006\u2019s sorrowful masterpiece (and recent Yer Metal is Olde inductee) Watching from a Distance<\/a> 45 minutes of your time, and when you\u2019re done splashing cold water on your face to remove the tears and redness, you\u2019ll be hard-pressed to disagree. No one could predict that Walker would resurrect the project, as he seemed happy(?!) and content to continue with 40WS, but with its 2016 resurrection and now new album Rituals of Shame, all eyes are on Walker and crew to deliver.<\/p>\n

And deliver, they did. Just like its immediate and legendary predecessor, Rituals is 45 minutes of a band taking its dear, bittersweet time to wrest every milliliter of sadness out of you. From the opening seconds of the title track, Walker and 40WS bandmate Wayne Taylor smother you flat with subdued riffs and simplistic yet effective melodies, even before a single word is muttered. But once Walker begins singing, ho-boy, that familiar yearning ache returns in full depressing force. Weathered by years of life experiences, Walker\u2019s bellowing vibrato haven\u2019t lost an ounce of effectiveness. In fact, they\u2019ve become more potent over time, channeling that feeling that can only be delivered by someone who\u2019s been through various wringers and back through honest conviction. It feels like they never disbanded, only resting until the time is right.<\/p>\n

The other four songs also ensure that no light escapes or gets in. Closer \u201cTeacher\u201d hits with the same level of effectiveness as \u201cBridges\u201d and \u201cFootprints\u201d did on Watching, but not taking as long to do so. Returning bassist Marcus Hatfield and new drummer Andy Prestidge (also of 40WS) added just enough variations of fills, rhythms, and flourishes, but mostly kept to a simple, heavy, and driving sound, again amplifying the anguish conveyed by Walker, his lyrics, and voice. And that\u2019s the key to the effectiveness of Rituals and Warning as a whole; you don\u2019t need flashiness, technical proficiency, or tricks and studio wizardry to be effective. Sometimes, brutally transparent honesty, wide-open space for your instruments to breathe and reverberate, and your emotions in the here and now are more than enough to get your message across.<\/p>\n

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It doesn\u2019t hurt that Rituals is a massive improvement in some areas in terms of mastering and production. You can hear and feel Hatfield\u2019s bass, and Prestidge\u2019s drums don\u2019t have that annoying \u201cMy Dying Bride in an empty bathroom\u201d sound that permeated on Watching, so kudos to Tom Dring for engineering the drums perfectly. Thankfully, Chris Fullard and Adam Gonsalves left the guitars and Walker\u2019s voice alone, as what wasn\u2019t broken sure as hell didn\u2019t need fixing. The only drawback to Rituals is this isn\u2019t something I could listen to all that much. Not because of the quality, which is stellar, but it hurts to listen to on an emotional level. If you were in a good mood before listening to this, you sure as shit won\u2019t be when you\u2019re done. That said, if you need to purge and get whatever the fuck is making you sad out, I can\u2019t think of a better album to do so with.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s the\u2026 I refuse to say \u201cappeal,\u201d but I\u2019m at a loss for words otherwise, of Warning. You don\u2019t go into their music for gains at the gym, to romance your significant other, or to bask in someone\u2019s ability to up and down a fretboard as fast as humanly possible. You listen to Warning to reflect, to purge, and to feel. And if you\u2019re anything at all like me, you\u2019ve been waiting a damn long time for a worthy follow-up to Watching from a Distance. Thankfully, Warning gave us exactly that. Welcome back.<\/p>\n

\ufeff<\/p>\n

Rating: 4.0\/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 256 kbps mp3
Label: Relapse<\/a>
Websites: warningdoom.bandcamp.com<\/a> | facebook.com\/warningdoom<\/a> | instagram.com\/warningdoom<\/a>
Releases Worldwide: June 19th, 2026<\/p>\n

\n\tGive in to Your Anger:\n<\/p>\n