Summer Bash 2025: 5 Albums I Want To Be Buried With #5: Black Skull Ritual!

In just twenty two days from now, on Saturday 26th July, no less that eleven bands will take to the stage to perform their finest material in the Red Room at The Facebar in Reading. The occasion is of course this years incarnation of Summer Bash, an annual Hawaiian themed beach party of a home town show hosted by the fun loving criminals otherwise known as Mercury’s Well. Now it its seventh year, you can expect inflatables, shirts and flower necklaces alongside glorious riffs, thunderous percussion, rumbling bass and more than a few sing-a-long choruses, so why not come and join the party? After all, the bar is serving your favourite drinks in accompaniment and absolutely no one has got anything better to do!

Here’s the line up in full:

Hidden Mothers
Masquerader
Black Skull Ritual
Buds.
Tape It Shut
Turning Point
Skin Reaper
Mercury’s Well
Gutlocker
Remnant
Killswitch Enchambers (Killswitch Engage Tribute featuring former members of Kill Chambers)

Now we’ve casually reminded you about Summer Bash, it’s time for the main event.

The premise is simple: “Back in ancient Egypt they believed that the items their Kings were buried with would travel with them into the afterlife and so part of the burial ritual would see the mummified bodies surrounded by chariots, gold and more. Fast forward to now. If there were five albums that you’d want buried in the coffin with you to take to the afterlife, what would you choose?”

Better known as Black Skull Ritual, Baron Von Strange (vocals, bass and programming) and Karl Lawrence (guitars and vocals) get the fifth swing of the executioners axe while admitting that “Individually there would be either a coffin full of Kiss and Ramones or a coffin full of Black Flag and Type O Negative but these choices are pretty much what Black Skull Ritual would listen too if buried in a tomb of misery…”

1 – “Black One” by Sunn O)))
“Sunn O))) are a massive influence on Black Skull Ritual. The band originally formed in the rehearsal studio creating guitar and bass drone to rumbling synth backing tracks. Though Black Skull Ritual has changed sonically – the deep love of BASS ))) is still evident in the music. Malefic from Xasthur, (another influence – thanks Crucial Blast Records) is a sufferer of claustrophobia, and was allegedly locked in a casket during his recorded performance to the vocals on the track “Báthory Erzsébet”. Over lockdown Black Skull Ritual released a remixed recording from the drone days “A Decision Made In Hell”. If your going to spend an eternity in misery might as well be loud as fuck! Sunn O))) “Báthory Erzsébet”.”

2 – “Damned, Damned, Damned” by The Damned
“Black Skull Ritual has a huge punk influence, both lyrically and musically. Its hard to choose a one album but this one never gets boring, and it never invokes that ‘not that song again’ vibe.”

3 – “Apocalyptic Raids” by Hellhammer
“This is probably where the dirty Black Skull Ritual sound comes from. It is the pure essence of every metal band in a dingy rehearsal room with aspirations of greatness. Black Metal, Death Metal, Punk Metal all in one! They don’t come greater than the legend Tom G Warrior. Triumph in death indeed!”

4 – “Flaunt it!” by Sigue Sigue Sputnik
“So punk aggression nicked from The Clash, a bit of punk rock n roll nicked from Tony James’ previous band Generation X and a whole lot of Suicide (The Band). Mix in the with samples and the adverts between tracks and…. Its now ‘cassette futurism’ but its brilliant. If Black Skull Ritual was a person they’d have an old cassette of this in one hand, an old Viovod vinyl in the other and thinking which one to die with”

5 – “Frozen Corpse Stuffed With Dope” by Agoraphobic Nosebleed
“Drum machine mayhem, grind speed, obnoxious vocals, doom breakdowns, bit-core FX. This album can be on repeat forever so its going in the coffin! Another huge influence on everything Black Skull Ritual.”

We’re proud confirm that Metal Noise dot Net is returning for a third consecutive year as the Media Partner for Summer Bash! Mercury’s Well will be hosting the seventh incarnation of their annual Hawaiian beach party themed event on 26th July 2025 at The Facebar in Reading.

Get your tickets -> here