Artoffact Records

Ritual Dictates – Give in to Despair Review

Ritual Dictates – Give in to Despair Review

“When I think of grind as a genre, I think of unrelenting brutality. I think of short, crushingly visceral songs. I think of pounding drums and churning, impenetrable walls of guitar. I think of Napalm Death, of Pig Destroyer and of Nasum. I do not think of Three Inches of Blood – yes, the “kill the orcs, slay the orcs, destroy the orcs,” heavy, power metal Three Inches of Blood. So it was with some surprise that I stumbled across Ritual Dictates, a Canadian grind duo comprising ex-Three Inches of Blood members Ash Pearson, who mans the kit, and Justin Hagberg, who mans everything else.” Despair falls in Middle Earth.

Seer – Vol. 6 Review

Seer – Vol. 6 Review

“Trve followers may notice that this is the third review for Vancouver’s unheralded Seer at this site. Vol. 1 & 2 opened 2016 with a whimper which at least betrayed some potential for proper impact, and said impact was felt with 2017’s Vol. III & IV. 2019 has arrived and with it comes a rejection of Roman numerals and a reversion to integers in Vol. 6. ‘But wait!’ I hear you cry; ‘What happened to Vol. 5?’ The honest reason that I didn’t cover it was partly that we didn’t receive the promo but principally that I didn’t have much inclination to buy and review a record simply to say that it’s average. You may consequently note that my views on Seer are reasonably varied. What, then, is the verdict for this release?” _Insert joke about being able to see the future here._ (Wait, is that the joke or should we insert one?)