Formed in South Wales and having the same line-up since their inception, heavy metal quintet Rites To Ruin have been making waves with their hard sound and soaring vocals. After releasing a couple of singles and a solitary EP (2021’s Fire), the band step up to the next level with their debut album Daughter Of Hatred. In keeping with the band’s tendency for continuity, the album was recorded with the same team who produced Fire, and the result is an album containing ten tracks that is going to rocket-propel the band towards the stratosphere.

While musical genres come and go (and with alarming rapidity), there’s a reason while old school heavy metal has stood the test of time whilst other genres have fallen by the wayside, and the answer can be found in bands such as Rites To Ruin. Drawing inspiration from the likes of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Warlock, Rites To Ruin are wise enough to sprinkle a little of their own personality on proceedings, and a sound is created that’s both familiar and refreshingly original. If proof were needed to the band’s power then it can be found in opening (and title track) ‘Daughter Of Hatred’. It’s bold, grandiose and evocative (in fact, everything good metal should be), and makes its presence felt right from the very first note. It’s the kind of song that demands your full attention, and like a surprise left from a heavyweight boxer leaves you battered and bruised (in the nicest way possible, of course).

Musically, Rites To Ruin are kind enough to wear their influences on their collective sleeve and we can trace a lineage back to the aforementioned Priest. There’s elements of power metal here (think early Queensrÿche) and cuts such as ‘In Memoriam’ catch that magical moment when the NWOBHM was morphing into thrash. Yet Daughter Of Hatred is no mere exercise in nostalgia and more modern metal flourishes ornate the edges of their sound. It’s all very air guitar inducing and means that cuts like ‘For The Love Of God’ will transfer well to the live environment, unleashed on stadium stage or sweaty club, songs such as ‘Sorrow’ are sure to go down a storm.

With none of these ten tracks dipping below the four-and-a-half minute mark, the album as a whole tends to veer towards the epic, and no more so than with Krissie Kirby vocals. With a natural storyteller aesthetic, Krissie has the kind of voice which could read the telephone directory and make it sound dynamic. Yet, it is as a collective that Rites To Ruin work best with the guitars riffing in tandem or sparring like vipers, whilst the rhythm section locks in tightly to ensure the band swing with wrecking ball swagger. In fact, the band mix up tempos and rhythms to ensure that things never become staid, with the into of ‘Rise’ being very Zeppelin-esque in a Viking-on-bended-knee-on-a-misty-morn type way whilst closer ‘Envy’ is an expansive number that captures the sense of something so large it can barely be comprehended.

At the end of every festival a question that gets more and more urgent with the passing years is who will be future headliners. Rites To Ruin’s Daughter Of Hatred could provide the answer.

• Daughter Of Hatred is released on 30th June 2025 (available here).
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Track List:

1. Daughter Of Hatred
2. Prevail
3. In Memoriam
4. For The Love Of Gold
5. Fire (Album Version)
6. Reflections
7. Rise (Album Version)
8. Sorrow
9. Envy