Band:	Degenerate (NED)
Album:	Rituals Of Rage
Style:	Melodic death metal, Thrash metal
Release date:	May 23, 2025
A review by:	musclassia

01. Servitor
02. Xenon Equilibrium
03. The Cult
04. Illuminate
05. Sentence Of Death
06. Claymore
07. Faceless Violence
08. The Blacksmith
09. Rituals Of Rage
10. The Desert

Degenerate (NED) write melodeath with a thrashy slant, or perhaps thrash with a melodic slant depending on your point of view; whatever direction you approach Rituals Of Rage from, you’ll encounter a record overflowing with hooky riffs.

Arriving six years after debut record Devastation Ahead, Rituals Of Rage features an unchanged line-up to that of the debut album, although since its recording sessions concluded finished, bassist Filip A. Filipczuk has departed the band, replaced by Yannick de Wit. Filipczuk’s final outing with the group is one that should raise the band’s profile within the metal scene substantially; Rituals Of Rage takes plenty of musical from a pair of very popular styles within the world of metal, while doing just enough to avoid being excessively derivative of either genre.

Thrash is more of a factor across the first handful of songs in the tracklist; the likes of “Servitor” and “The Cult” have rapid-paced thrash riffs with meaty grooves interspersed between, all accompanied by high-pitched rasping roars typical of the more intense end of the genre. However, there’s melodic hints slotted within the tracks, whether it be snare march-driven acoustic-electric guitar harmonizing prior to the bridge of “Servitor” (which brings Sylosis somewhat to mind) or Arch Enemy-esque guitar leads in the chorus of “Xenon Equilibrium”. I’ve expressed my lack of enthusiasm for modern thrash in the past; between the quality and intensity of the execution and the additional melodic touches, this trio of songs lie towards the upper echelon of recent songs in the genre for my tastes, but a couple of genre tropes do hold me slightly back in my enjoyment of them.

However, “Illuminate” acts as a bit of a turning point in the record’s trajectory, one that takes them further in the direction of the Gothenburg scene. This song in particular has a turn-of-the-millennium In Flames feel to its melodic guitar cues, although some of the harmonized leads also have a bit of Killswitch Engage to them. As much as I like the opening songs’ take on thrash far more than most music released in that genre, the switch to Gothenburg metal does play more to my intrinsic preferences, and the introduction of Children Of Bodom-style keyboards at the beginning of “Sentence Of Death” goes a step further on that front; with the rapid verses and dazzling accompanying guitar lead accompaniment, plus the Bodom-esque anthemic chorus, “Sentence Of Death” marks the point at which I am fully ensnared by Degenerate.

With no song other than “Sentence Of Death” breaching the 5-minute barrier, Rituals Of Rage is mostly a relentless surge of back-to-back fast, sharp riffs; one of the few exceptions to this is “Claymore”, the slow, ominous intro of which subsequently evolves into a Clayman-era mid-tempo anthem (given the resemblance to “Only For The Weak”, I’m inclined to believe that the song title is an intentional reference). Given how fast-minded the record is otherwise, Degenerate pull off the change of pace here with a very catchy chorus and solo, even if the verse can be a bit plodding.

Further variety comes with the NWOAHM groove moments in “Faceless Violence” and a return to thrash riffing in “The Blacksmith”, but I find Rituals Of Rage most compelling when it is simultaneously fast and melodic, and the title track is perhaps the peak of the record (either than or “Sentence Of Death”), bulldozing forth at lightspeed in the verses and following said verses up with an immediately memorable chorus hook. Where Degenerate (NED) choose to specialize in the future, or even whether they specialize at all, remains to be seen, but they certainly have several options open to them, each of which are successfully explored on this tight, energizing and catchy sophomore album.