ALBUM REVIEW: Venomous Concept – The Good Ship Lollipop


 

Napalm Death’s Shane Embury is a musician who seemingly never rests! After spending the best part of four decades playing the earth-shattering bass in the world’s premiere Death / Grindcore band, he has also dabbled in a seemingly endless succession of side projects and guest appearances. In 2021 he created one of the albums of the year by returning to Blood From The Soul and bringing in Converge vocalist Jacob Bannon for the journey, and in 2022 he provided music of a more obscure and experimental electronic persuasion, with Dark Sky Burial.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Grade 2 – Grade 2


 

Ryde, a seaside town located on the Isle of Wight is home to former BBC sports presenter turned controversial conspiracy theorist David Icke – it also happens to be where the young trio by the name of Grade 2 originate from. Formed in 2013 at the tender age of 14, the band is comprised of childhood friends Sid Ryan (vocals/bass), Jacob Hull (drums), and Jack Chatfield (guitar/vocals) who united over their love of classic Punk Rock, Ska and O!

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Riot Fest Books Taking Back Sunday, Coolio, Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg, Poliça, Zola Jesus and More


Riot Fest has added Taking Back Sunday, Coolio, Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg, Zola Jesus, Reece Young, Poliça and cumgirl8 join the diverse lineup of bands playing September 16-18 in Douglass Park. They join a lineup stacked with headliners My Chemical Romance, The Original Misfits, Nine Inch Nails. Continue reading


The Weekly Ritual Rock and Metal News Show 7-15-22


Catch up on what you missed this week in the world of Rock and Metal news with our show!

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Louder Than Life 2022 Festival Books Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nine Inch Nails, Slipknot, KISS, and More!


 

Louder Than Life Festival has announced its lineup for 2022, seeking to top the epic edition in 2021. Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nine Inch Nails, Slipknot and KISS will headline the festival of 100 artists over 4 days! Joining them will be Rob Zombie, Bring Me The Horizon, Alice In Chains (And A Separate Set From Jerry Cantrell), Alice Cooper, Incubus, Evanescence, Lamb Of God, Tenacious D, Yungblud, Chevelle, Papa Roach, Halestorm, Mastodon, In This Moment, The Pretty Reckless and many more! Taking place from September 21st – 25th 2022, the fest takes place at The Highland Festival Grounds at KY Expo Center Passes are on sale now for $10 down (through March 31) at the link below. Continue reading


Metallica, Iron Maiden, Kiss, Judas Priest, Korn, Mercyful Fate, Opeth, Emperor, and More Booked for Copenhell 2022


Copenhell has announced its first bands for 2022 next summer and it looks like a banger. Metallica will make their debut appearance ever at the fest performing on the new fourth day, June 15th, 2022, as announced on social media by Lars Ulrich, who is from Denmark. Metallica will offer a pre-sale for tickets through their Fifth Members Fan Club. Joining the band will be Iron Maiden, Kiss, Judas Priest, Korn, D-A-D, Mercyful Fate, Emperor, Bad Religion, Opeth, The Hellacopters, Bersærk, Jinjer, Gloryhammer, Death To All, Of Mice & Men, Artillery, Dog Eat Dog, Siamese, Destruction, Orm, Redwood Hill, Ghost Iris, Withering Surface, Xenoblight, Hällas, Lok, Gatecreeper, Knocked Loose, Svartsot, Soren Andersen, Eyes, Denial Of God, Wayward Dawn, Lifesick, Nyredolk and more to be announced. The fest runs from June 15th – 19th 2022.

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Bad Religion to Celebrate 40-Years As a Band with a Four-part Streaming Series


Iconic Punk Rock pioneers Bad Religion celebrates their forty years of making music with Decades; a four-episode online streaming event captured live at The Roxy Theatre in Hollywood, California. The band felt it important to commemorate the conclusion of 2020 as a strange moment in history when they reached that 40-year milestone. Tickets went on sale December 1, 2020 12 PM (PST). The first episode will air First Episode, The 80’s, will premiere December 12, 2020 2 Pm (PST). The celebratory episodes will include live performance footage, exclusive interviews, and a peek at their rehearsals leading up to the taping of Decades. Bad Religion will participate in an accompanying live chat during the premiere of each episode. Show specific merchandise will be available for sale on the Decades NoCap Shows page.

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FESTIVAL REVIEW: Slipknot, Tool, Korn, Rob Zombie, Staind, and More Rule Aftershock 2019


It comes as no surprise that this year’s Aftershock Festival was once again sold out. I mean, how could it not with big-name talents such as Slipknot, Tool, Korn, Rob Zombie, Blink-182, Lamb of God, Dropkick Murphys, Marilyn Manson, Bad Religion, Chevelle, and many others. And with the über-early announcement of next year’s headliner—Metallica, for those of you living under a rock—there’s no question that 2020’s Aftershock will sell out as well. In fact, as of this writing, VIP weekend passes were all gone. A year in advance! So, how was this year’s outing? Damn good, in our humble opinion.Continue reading


FESTIVAL PREVIEW: Aftershock Festival 2019


Aftershock Festival gets underway this weekend in Sacramento, California! The now three-day event is sold-out and features Tool, Slipknot, Staind (in a rare reunion show), blink-182, Korn, Rob Zombie, Bring Me The Horizon, A Day To Remember, Marilyn Manson, Lamb of God, Halestorm, Dropkick Murphys, BABYMETAL, Bad Religion, Stone Temple Pilots, Chevelle and many more. Ghost Cult has been fortunate to cover the fest for many years, often the highlight of our annual festival coverage. Al lthe bands are tight, but clashes being what they are, check out our day by day list of can’t miss acts.Continue reading


REVIEW: Psycho Las Vegas 2019 – Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino


As far as large multi-day fests go, Psycho Las Vegas is still pretty wet behind the ears having only just had their fourth annual incarnation this August but already it has begun growing into what will likely continue to be the summer juggernaut of partying and music. New this year, to the dismay of many, was the location change from the off the strip and perfectly themed haunt, The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, to the megaplex that is Mandalay Bay. Gone is the feeling of a true fest take over and in its place, a sprawling amalgamation of “psychos” and people from any town USA or abroad there simply to gamble, throw pre-wedding bashes, get drunk or maybe attend a conference (*ahem* “conference”). Once everyone got their bearings and navigated through this corporate mega casino/hotel/shopping mall, pushed back a few drinks or whatever preferred substances they were into, and found the locations of the four stages, the complaining ebbed and instead, people experienced the fest for what it is. A gigantic party with a great combination of bands playing for four days.Continue reading