With one demo and one EP, both originally only released digitally by the band themselves and the latter one also been issued on cassette tape by Blasfemas Records, the five-piece of Genocidal Rites has not yet managed to raise its profile so enormously. But although this new EP, ‘Exsanguination Of The Gods’, is also only released on cassette tape for now, this time it is presented by one of extreme metal’s most revered labels of the last two decades, Hells Headbangers Records.
Clad in an ever so recognisable Chris Moyen cover, the band blows your socks off in less than 9 minutes. The three tracks rage at a blistering pace, crumbling your last bit of intellect and giving you the quick fix of your daily dose of Proclamation-styled violence. Although this style of Black/Death Metal has no intention of sounding cultivated or original, the trained and depraved ear will undoubtedly hear the Ross Bay Cult’s blueprint back. But in fact, this is a slightly more Death Metal oriented variant that resembles Proclamation so much that it could just as easily have been a forgotten EP by the Spaniards. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. These are the three latest tracks from that Ohio, USA-based Genocidal Rites and this cassette EP serves as a preview of the upcoming album that will also see the light of day via Hells Headbangers Records. The label, along with Nuclear War Now! Productions, almost has the monopoly on this kind of music and both labels can therefore be seen as the saviours of the “real” Ross Bay Cult sound without a doubt.
Judging from these three tracks, true fans can keep an eye on Hells Headbangers Records in advance, as Genocidal Rites’ debut album could well be one of the highlights of the year in this much-loved genre. The heavily Grindcore and Death Metal leaning riffs, the all-destroying pounding drums and barking vocals are again a feast for that depraved ear. Short and very lethal, it is all obvious: Genocidal Rites simply belies any kind of musical progression, sophistication and, yucky, melody.
