Many tracks here feel cinematic - whether it's the industrial clanging of "A Taste of You," which brings to mind a Lynchian bar scene, or the gothy synths of "Take Me Up," a slow burning track that escalates into full on melodrama. It's easy to imagine these twangy guitar lines gracing a scene in a Jarmusch film: their aesthetic owes as much to Tom Waits as it does Ennio Moriccone.
Ritual Howls manages to take all these influences and come out sounding uniquely morbid, raw and unyielding - never derivative. It's a record that holds nothing back: the band announcing themselves to the world with all of the confidence of long time professionals. Their future audience will greet them with enthusiasm.