Head On Collision - Ritual Sacrifice Review
by Matt Hensch
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What a shame they fall at young ages. Head On Collision, for instance, was raised in 2004, but quickly took their own lives when a horrible stance on thrash overcame them without mercy, driving them into nothingness once again. Ritual Sacrifice is the band's first full-length, and it is like being kicked in the balls with a steel-toed boot; not in a good way though, because Head On Collision is unquestionably horrendous. Thrash metal needs some identity when it is glorified, yet these clowns enjoy twisting that aspect into a cesspool of monotonous, humdrum chaos not having any meaning or purpose. Needless to specify, our beloved sound will soon be incapacitated and strapped to a bed with a colostomy bag if stuff like Ritual Sacrifice somehow crawls its way into the heart of thrashers everywhere.
I would prefer having my entrails torn out when experiencing this genre's guitar assault, but Ritual Sacrifice actually pets your head, making sure everything is alright, and asks if you need anything, like a beverage. Utterly powerless and pathetic, our guitarists dispel rehashed tracings of their favorite bands when growing up. You can see a little Slayer, some Exodus, or perhaps whoring towards Dark Angel, minus one problem: Ritual Sacrifice is essentially a tribute album. There is no identity or color here; just worshipping past acts until the listener begins snoozing. After hitting idiot-induced unconsciousness, Head On Collision decides adding unmemorable percussion would probably do their style honor, because if one thing sucks, it all should, right? Nevertheless, Head On Collision's spine is completely trampled within a few tunes by this uninspired sewage; it is not just bad, but f*cking painful.
Also, Pat McCauley has no lasting power as a vocalist. He just sits there, singing random odes about violence and death, with minimal electricity overall. You know, guys like Sean Killian have established unique, bombastic styles of vocalizing lyrics, but this guy? Nah, he just coats his voice in anger; not that he sounds very good at doing so, I might add. Still, Ritual Sacrifice has mediocre sound quality some might scorn, but that is not a problem; instead, look at Head On Collision's unsatisfactory technique. Bad thrash can't have any good sides, so the grave has thus been dug on their behalf entirely, without bringing in potential miscalculations some would despise. Worst thrash ever? I think so.
Uh, did Head On Collision somehow consider this acceptable just because it is a thrash CD? I cannot answer that riddle, but no perks exist beyond endless speed and unforgivable redundancy, so I would bet my nuts they actually thought so; a sad fact, yet that's probably what inspired this flaccid flop. No creativity, innovation, energy, or a detectable sprinkle of awesomeness is found throughout all offerings, so the casket has thus been covered by utmost woe and disdain; it is back in the dirt, right where Ritual Sacrifice belongs. Case in point, I will argue no form of thrash metal can go any lower than Head On Collision's bland debut.
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Head On Collision - Ritual Sacrifice Rating:1.5
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