Rituals of Shame

<b>The English doom band’s first album in 20 years is worth the wait.</b> After spending much of the last two decades focusing on the excellent 40 Watt Sun, vocalist/guitarist Patrick Walker has resurrected his lauded atmospheric doom squad Warning. <i>Rituals of Shame</i> is the English band’s first album in 20 years, and it is well worth the wait. Across five long-form epics, Walker and his compatriots weave a forlorn sonic tapestry—which is handy, because you’ll probably need something to dry your eyes with afterward. All of Warning’s classic themes resonate with each painstaking note of slow-motion majesty: guilt, shame, obsession, longing, personal failure, separation and, Walker stresses, love. It’s an album that transcends metal by speaking directly to the human condition.