Album Review: lowheaven – Ritual Decay (MNRK Heavy)

One of the most anticipated albums of the year, Toronto genre-bending band, lowheaven will release their long-awaited debut album, Ritual Decay’ on August 29th, 2025, via MNRK Heavy.

Take a f**king bow, lowheaven. I expected this album to be good, after all, the clues were there with brilliant single after brilliant single, but even then, this has turned out to be something quite special. The culmination of all their hard work, and the defiant statement that they are here and ready to dominate. Likely to draw in fans from all across the rock and metal spectrum, and challenge those who aren’t quite on board to relisten and rethink. It’s a very special record, and all because lowheaven’s genre-bending feels so natural.

What I mean by that is we’ve all heard bands who like to throw a lot into the cooking pot, in fact, being genre-less or genre-defying is a scene itself. Hearing bands who do it so effortlessly, so effectively, and so emphatically is another thing altogether. However, doing it across ten tracks and making each as compelling as the other, that takes talent.

That’s lowheaven for you and with a bit of post-hardcore, a bit of gaze, a bit of alt-rock, metal, experimental screamo, and more, they leave one hell of a mark.

That’s the summation there, but I really want to tell you about some of the tracks, as I spent most of the album with my mouth wide open. From the abrasive insanity and dramatic heavy melodies of In Grievance (shades of Deftones) to the energised passion of Chemical Pattern, a track that shares plenty in common with noise rock but evolves in such impressive ways. To the way in which Cancer Sleep can sound like the filthiest and heaviest of tracks and then have soaring cleans and alternative rock melody, Nothing Else Frail is so weird, but so wonderful, and Amherst can bring forth a bevy of thoughts and feelings through its immersive soundscape.

Across the first half of the record, listeners can experience highly dramatic, nostalgically alternative, emotionally wrought, potently heavy, attractively melodic, and intriguingly uncomfortable music. Where both the instrumentals and vocals amaze, ensuring that everyone listening will be on edge, but excited to hear what comes next.

Which just so happens to be another lowheaven banger in the form of Mercy Death. Sitting on the heavier side of the band’s sound, in fact, it’s downright doomy and notably experimental. There are layers of disconcerting heaviness, bursts of intensity, impressive vocal harmonies, and downright desperate sounding flashes of virulent hostility. All of which comes together in a very special, dread-filled, way. A personal favourite.

Although I am a bit impartial to the moody punchiness of Fucking Hell as well, a track that shows just how carefully lowheaven walk the line between genius and madness. Whereas Fighter Valley oozes cold and haunting post melody, powering up in gargantuan fashion to wallop the listener over the head with its heaviness. The vocals on this one are the kind you can’t help but sway to.

Finally, there’s Violence and Manic Grace, the former a snarling and snarky beast of a track, aside from a very alternative sounding chorus that soars a bit. The latter, a powerhouse finale that puts the cherry on top by sounding like a finale too.

Outstanding stuff, lowheaven.

lowheaven – Ritual Decay Track Listing:

1. In Grievance
2. Chemical Pattern
3. Cancer Sleep
4. Nothing Else Frail
5. Amherst
6. Mercy Death
7. Fucking Hell
8. Fighter Valley
9. Violence
10. Manic Grace

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