Rites of Thy Degringolade - The Blade Philosophical CD

RITES OF THE DEGRINGOLADE (Alberta, Canada) - The Blade Philosophical CD (2018) (sealed copy) is at once a recapitulation of the band’s earlier work and a continued expansion of the boundaries of Extreme Metal. It is, in the truest sense, a real album, with common sonic and thematic threads woven throughout, drawing the tracks together into something cohesive and whole. Conceptually, the album is an exposition of the themes that permeate the band’s entire body of work. While many details of the philosophy of Rites remain obscure, the overarching premise emerges: the exaltation of the self—the cultivation of the individual will—to disrupt, navigate, and ultimately control the ever-flowing streams of determinism. “The Blade Philosophical is the study and catharsis in the constant state of will—deterministic all, and the self as creator and destroyer.” The sound of Rites has always been distinctive—the band is one of a handful that can be honestly characterized as unique. On this album, the full spectrum of the band’s sound is on violent display. Kressman’s frenetic percussion and the low-end guitars form a tangled and tense knot at the core, that is draped and gilded with shimmering contrapuntal melodies delivered by Wroth and N.K.L.H. The organic fibers of Rites’ sound remain in omnipresent tension with the grinding mechanistic and boldly physical elements. The sprawling universe suspended in Death-Black paralysis. The misshapen spine of the cosmos dissected in the mind of man. 

NWN! is supremely honored to present this monumental return to form by one of the greatest bands of the last several decades.  **originally published on nuclearwarnowproductions.bandcamp.com**  Nuclear War Now! Productions ‎– ANTI-GOTH 362