8th September 2025

Review: “The Suffering Ritual” by Stonewielder

Committed to Doom Metal and amplifier worship for life with their vision for their sound a blend of crushing riffs and slow, heavy atmospheres, Stonewielder are a trio hailing from St. Louis Missouri. Build on the cornerstones of Doom, Sludge and Groove Metal influences, they comprise Dalton Mason on drums, CJ Hitchcock on bass and Mark Weeks on vocals and guitars, their first taped confession coming in the form of debut EP “The Suffering Ritual“.

Back in 1967 Time Magazine quoted Andy Warhol as saying “In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes” and with “The Suffering Ritual” running to just short of that time, we hope that this doesn’t end up being the only record from Stonewielder. Fuzzy riffs with flavours of Black Sabbath and early Mastodon rise from the grave with opening cut “Bury Me“, accompanied by gravelly clean vocals from Weeks as the band create hangover music to be accompanied by a little hair of the dog. While it sounds a little rough around the edges that doesn’t mask any of its qualities with a majestic, spellbinding solo creating a grand finale that is well worth waiting for. A sing-a-long chorus is a nice touch that will have poison chalices raised as audiences sway like marionettes to this soulful tune and it might leave you wondering how long the gestational period was, such is the quality of the craftsmanship. It certainly hasn’t been rushed. “Suffering” has hints of Crowbar influence as Weeks roars about refusing to suffer in vain, powerful chord progressions and tight percussive performance creating a weighty atmospheric. Breaking the chains that hold us down is part of the energy and the message isn’t lost in these dark waters. The mid tempo crush of “The Ritual” puts it on par with earlier tracks as the bands performances register as seismic activity with their low end bass rumbling and sonic intensity. A tale of a harlot being seduced into an occult ritual is one as old as time and here, in the swirling riffs of oblivion it makes perfect sense [7.5/10]

Track Listing