Ritual King – The Infinite Mirror
Release Date: 17th November 2023
Label: Ripple Music
Bandcamp
Genre: Stoner/Blues Rock, Progressive Psych.
FFO: Elder, King Buffalo, Asteroid, Nebula.
Review By: Paul Franklin
The Infinite Mirror ‘delves deep into the human psyche, exploring themes of introspection, duality, and the eternal search for meaning.’
The Infinite Mirror is ‘a masterful balance of heaviness and harmony…reflecting the very duality it seeks to explore.’
The Infinite Mirror rocks like a motherfucker.
Manchester threesome Ritual King’s sophomore release blurs the lines between stoner/blues rock and more progressive psych and folk elements. Joyously, the result is an album that eschews the self-indulgent wankery that often afflicts albums with such existentialist concepts, instead focussing on giving the listener exactly what they want, when they want it.
Opener Flow State starts with a folky-blues vibe before their trademark wall of sonic fuzz hits you square in the face. Worlds Divide hits hard from the get-go with some thick, thundering riffs and Hendrix-esque guitar solos.
There are only five tracks on the album, but as they all average around the 8–10-minute mark, you won’t feel short-changed. Also, there is an overriding feeling of each track being a fragment of a larger whole, rather than an individual on its own. Landmass emphasizes more of the band’s psychedelic grooves, whilst the concluding title track builds from a completive beginning to a full-on riff fest at its conclusion.
Which leaves the majestic 12 minutes of Tethered. A sweeping magnum opus that begins by sounding like the music is literally tethered in place by hefty hooks, before it ebbs and flows through the atmosphere, riding waves of roaring fuzz and anthemic vocals, before finally returning full circle. Epic
It bears repeating, The Infinite Mirror rocks like a motherfucker.
(4.5 / 5)
