REVIEW: lowheaven - Ritual Decay

For those looking for a feelgood party album to soundtrack languid days at the beach, relaxing in the sun with friends, Ritual Decay is not going to scratch that particular itch. The long awaited full-length debut from Toronto sonic destroyers lowheaven follows on from their critically acclaimed Collapse EP unleashed on the world two years ago and brings their bleak vision into sharper focus, albeit one swathed in pitch black darkness.

Given that the band came together during the devastating background of a global pandemic, this was never going to be a project full of optimism - but rather than forced smiles and saccharine positivity, the quartet captured the zeitgeist and bring something that’s incredibly powerful in its sentiment and honesty. Comprising vocalist/guitarist Dan Thomson, Mikey Buchta on vocals/bass, guitar/keys player Alex Pley and Pat Pajak on guitar, the outfit have managed to blend elements of post-hardcore, screamo, blackened noise, and metal into something that has the sense of the cinematic. Not what could be described as an easy listen, Ritual Decay stands as a jaw dropping achievement in sound, weaving an intense atmosphere that, whilst crushingly heavy, has moments so beautiful that they would bring angels to tears.

Built around the feeling of a rotting society and the psychological toll that takes on the individual, the whole is ushered in by opening track ‘In Grievance’, the brutality of the music and Thomson’s almost otherworldly vocals coming from the absolute depths of despair. The switch to clean delivery of the lyrics is striking and give a momentary peak of bright light as the song moves into the soft of huge and sweeping vistas that Placebo have made their own before descending into a barrage of chaos. The wrecking ball impact of ‘Chemical Pattern’ hits next before the fascinating ‘Cancer Sleep’ feels like an eternal battle to the death between Jekyll and Hyde, the two trying to tear each other apart as an apocalypse rages that threatens to consume all life.

Following the splintered ‘Nothing Else Frail’, album centrepiece ‘Amherst’ unfurls languidly and proves to be arguably the most extraordinary piece the quartet have achieved thus far. Spacey in feel, there’s an incandescent beauty here that continues to grow into something truly huge and stunning, all the while focused on touching a different part of the soul. Such is the power of this, it’s ideal to purchase the vinyl edition to allow the opportunity to pause before carrying onto the second side - but for those who chose the digital version, it's just a few minutes to recover before continuing onto the turmoil of ‘Mercy Death’ and the truly titanic ‘Fucking Hell’.

The pace doesn’t dip from that moment onwards and as the tsunami of sound that is ‘Fighter Valley’ and the moshpit filling ‘Violence’ press on towards the close, the gloves are truly off as the production by Brett Romnes brings a ferocious intensity to every note. Positively dripping with threat, album closer ‘Manic Grace’ balances a tightrope between pain and pleasure in the most sinister way possible, eschewing a cop-out of a happy ending that would have dampened the album’s impact.

Despite the overwhelming darkness, there’s certainly some catharsis here but this is due to the optional ability to step back as an observer, witnessing from far enough away not to get sucked into the black hole. An album to truly explore and get to know, preferably with headphones on, Ritual Decay is an extraordinary achievement. It sounds stunning, and frankly marks lowheaven out as a truly special act indeed. The material may be bleak, but their future is ironically bright.

Score: 8/10

Ritual Decay is released on August 29th 2025.

Words: Paul Monkhouse

Photos: lowheaven