Warning - Rituals of Shame (2026)
I’m no longer hearing Rituals of Shame as a devastating late-career triumph. I’m hearing a good Warning album that still carries the band’s emotional weight, but not one that fully converts that weight into a truly great record.
What I’d still respond to is the sincerity. Warning are one of the few doom bands where sadness doesn’t feel decorative, and Patrick Walker’s voice almost automatically gives the material a bruised, human quality. Even if the album is “only” a 67 for me, I’d still expect it to sound committed, patient and emotionally serious in a way that separates it from a lot of modern epic doom. The problem is that seriousness alone isn’t enough on your scale. For a record this slow and this emotionally concentrated, I need the songs to earn their runtime with bigger structural payoffs, stronger climactic release, or at least more variation in how the grief is expressed.
At a 67, the issue becomes that the album probably inhabits one emotional and musical zone too consistently. The pacing may be stately, but not necessarily transformative. The riffs and melodies may be solid, but not enough to keep the album from feeling like it’s circling the same wound rather than deepening it. And if it really stays this close to the Watching from a Distance model, then part of the impact gets lost because I’m no longer hearing revelation — I’m hearing a return to familiar strengths without the same level of devastation.
So in this version, I’d still respect Rituals of Shame more than I’d love it. It sounds like an album with real conviction, real melancholy and a clear identity, but also one whose slowness and emotional focus may not always translate into enough movement or payoff. Good doom, sometimes powerful doom, but not consistently enough to live in the 80s.
pros
The emotional sincerity still seems very strong; even at 67 I’d still buy the grief and conviction in Patrick Walker’s writing and delivery.The atmosphere and pacing likely remain effective on an individual-track level, especially if you want slow, mournful doom that commits fully to one emotional space.
It still sounds more substantial than generic modern epic doom because the band’s identity is so clear and the melodic side appears genuinely affecting.
cons
The album probably doesn’t justify its length and slowness often enough with enough escalation or structural surprise.
It seems too close to the established Warning formula, which lowers the sense of discovery and makes the emotional impact less overwhelming than it should be.
The narrow dynamic and emotional palette may turn parts of the album into endurance rather than catharsis, especially if several songs operate in the same register.
Genre: Doom Metal
Country: UK
Final Verdict: 67% (Good Album)
Yearly Ranking: 84th / 504
Highlight: Teacher
Made me think of:
Pallbearer
Solstice
While Heaven Wept
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