Ritual The Ancient Tome
by Justin Gaines
Staff Writer
The first in Heaven & Hell’s Lost Relics reissue series, The Ancient Tome, is a collection of rare recordings by New Jersey hard rockers Ritual. Once hailed by VH1 “That Metal Show” host Eddie Trunk as “one of the most promising bands to come out of New Jersey,” Ritual is a band that for whatever reason never managed to attain mainstream success or the elusive record deal.
Ritual’s sound balanced on that thin line between hard rock and heavy metal (at least as it was considered back in the ‘80s). They clearly drew influence from the popular West Coast “hair metal” scene, particularly bands like Ratt, Autograph and Quiet Riot, but they also had their share of harder-edged metal songs. Actually, the band that comes to mind the most when listening to Ritual is Canadian rockers Killer Dwarfs. They have a similar sense of melody, a similar party rock sound, and a similar “stand tall; stick to your guns” ethic.
Songs like “Love in the Shadows” and “Get Back, Stand Back” are great examples of Ritual’s party rock style, while “Let the Metal Play” and “Rock & Roll Demon” showcase the band’s heavier side. Then there’s the dreadful ballad “No Longer Feel,” which proves that not every ‘80s band could score a hit with a sappy ballad. Later in their career, the band solidified their sound to a more polished, melodic hard rock style, as evidenced by the Dokken/Leatherwolf sounding “Dark Star” and “Overload.”
The Ancient Tome collects all of the available Ritual recordings from the 1980s. This includes the band’s 1987 L.T.M.P. EP, their 1989 Evil in Your Heart EP, and their Dark Star EP (also from 1989). The CD also includes a band biography, rare photos and the original demo artwork, all under a very striking cover image. Actually, the cover artwork – impressive as it is – is the collection’s most noticeable misstep, as the cult imagery is more suited to a doom or thrash metal band, and totally at odds with the party rock contained within.
Ritual is one of those bands that as soon as you hear them you know you would have loved them back in the day. If you’re a serious fan of the ‘80s era hard rock sound, you’ll definitely want to check out The Ancient Tome.
Genre: Hard Rock, Hair Metal, Melodic Hard Rock
Band:
Billy Farley (v)
Joe Ballarino (g)
Ace Abram (g)
Derek Thailer (b)
Derek Lord (d)
Track Listing:
1. Give It To Ya Straight
2. Get Back, Stand Back
3. No Longer Feel
4. Tight
5. Let the Metal Play
6. If I Had Your Love
7. Rock & Roll Demon
8. Claw To the Top
9. Evil In Your Heart
10. Love in the Shadows
11. Friend or Foe
12. Dark Star
13. Rid of the Bitch
14. Sweet Lady
15. Overload
16. Electrified
Label: Heaven & Hell Records
Website: www.myspace.com/ritualonline
Hardrock Haven rating: 7.5/10