Review Summary: A loss of substance, but not all hope is gone.
Deaf Havana has always been one of my favorite bands ever since I discovered them back in High School. I was always attracted to how genuine their lyricism was and how different they could be for a modern rock band just talking about the daily trials of life, substance abuse, and more. And while Rituals follows this same trend that All These Countless Nights did, it does not do it as well - the front man is still struggling, but what can be said has already been said, so we're met with shallow lyricism in the first half of the record. Sinner is a poppy anthem with depressing lyrics, and while the writing can be a bit better at times, it still follows the same trend of being a sinner and redemption which this album wears out by the sixth track.
The majority of the album is talking about how our front man is a liar and has a dark side, but we've heard this before in a much better tone. ATCN had a depressing sense of mundane life, but this seems as if it is trying to glorify this behavior by constantly talking about the same demons and guilt that comes with infidelity and alcoholism.
However, what saves this album are the last few tracks. Fear is a slow to upbeat track that talks about how the singer is 'a mess of doubts' and how much of a drag he is any more, which makes me think of Fools and Worthless Liars. While it does have some cheesy lyricism here and there, it certainly feels real.
Pure and Evil (they're even next to each other on the track list, it isn't very clever) do this pretty well, too. Pure is where the vocals shine the most and where the new instrumentation blows everything else out of the water, and Evil is a slow crawl down your spine that can give you chills.
Heaven goes more in depth about the alcoholism and his lover, and talks about how he can feel alive when with them but at the same time, he still feels guilt. It feels very genuine because you can tell just how torn apart he is by his choices. Worship fits in here, being a brutally honest track in terms of lyricism and brings me back to the ATCN tracks.
Saint is very somber and simple, which works best for what it is. It's simply him wishing he could be more like someone he could look up to, despite all of the mistakes he's made over the past several years. And... Epiphany, as short as it is, is genius. It doesn't have a traditional format but it leaves you off on a haunting note, with the lead singer implying suicide at the very end. "I know at times you wanted to kill, let me save you the trouble and feel me." It's chilling.
This was my first review, constructive criticism is appreciated.
Below average tracks:
Sinner
Ritual
Hell
Holy
Saviour
Recommended tracks:
Fear
Pure
Evil
Heaven
Worship
Saint
Epiphany
