Arriving twenty years after 2006’s seminal, genre-defining ‘Watching From A Distance’, to describe ‘Rituals Of Shame’ as “much anticipated” would be the understatement of the century. As one of doom metal’s most emotionally affecting and resonant records, ‘Watching From A Distance’ was always going to be a tough act to follow – so Warning mastermind Patrick Walker didn’t, instead opting to disband the doom quartet and spend the intervening years channelling his musical creativity into 40 Watt Sun.
Twenty years later and a followup finally arrives. Written by Walker throughout the course of 2025, a time in his life that he describes as “transformative”, the five songs here were destined to form the next chapter for Warning. And what songs they are too. Two decades may have passed, but Walker’s voice sounds as flawless as ever, and his songwriting prowess and heartrending lyrics still elevate Warning far above their peers.
Opening with the near 13-minute epic title track, we’re in familiar and powerful Warning territory. Atmospheric and haunting, ‘Rituals Of Shame’ unfolds slowly as sensitively played melancholic arpeggios ring out over restrained drums and rumbling bass, the perfect foil for Walker’s devastating vocals, which here soar higher than ever. Lead single ‘Stations’ is similarly affecting, with mournful melodies that are achingly breathtaking and disarmingly catchy.
Whilst doom can often feel claustrophobic in its musical heft, Warning’s approach always feels more spacious. The music here is given room to move and the result is a feeling that has something of a cinematic quality. Walker’s strength is creating music that has emphasis on creating memorable melodies within the more progressive song structures, like on the sorrowful and slow-moving ‘Landing Lights’ or the aforementioned ‘Stations’. The closing track ‘Teacher’ is equally poignant, featuring some of Walker’s most stirring vocals to date as he yearns, professing “I can’t see beyond you and I can’t count to the ways I love you” over the song’s closing refrain.
‘Rituals Of Shame’ was recorded in a 140-year-old former church, a fact which only adds to the album’s subtle gothic leanings. Walker has noted prog rock masters Marillion as influences , but one can also detect hints of Jethro Tull and early Black Sabbath, particularly in Walker’s vocal inflections and the overall mood the music conjures. Much like these bands, Warning’s music feels peculiarly English in its sorrowful, folk-like melodies. It’s also the breadth of feeling Warning are able to embody in their music that sets them apart. To the uninitiated, doom can often come across as simply “depressing” or “miserable”, but here Walker mines a deeper and more nuanced emotional well; this is music imbedded with grief, longing and regret; feelings that come with age and a life lived.
‘Watching From A Distance’ was always going to be a difficult album to follow, but Warning have succeeded by producing a record that is comfortably its equal. The twenty year wait was worth it. Poignant, evocative, and at times bleak but always crushingly beautiful, ‘Rituals Of Shame’ is destined to be another hallmark for the doom genre and become one of the most revered albums released this year.
ADAM FIRTH
