Darkwave Duo Ritual Wave go on a Subterranean Journey in Their Video for “Ritual”

No need to be afraid of me anymore
Just kneel down on the floor
No need to be afraid of me anymore
I’ll rip your body to the core

Canadian/American duo, RITUAL WAVE, a collaboration between Toronto vocalist Judy Karacs and San Diego musician, John Goodman, have released their debut music video for their brand new single, Ritual. Combining old-school post-punk with rich melodic darkwave undertones, Goodman and Karacs have been composing music since meeting in 2018 through an online music collective. Ritual is their first release as a duo.

The haunting track sets Karacs’s melodic voice centre stage, bringing both a melodic dissonance reminiscent of Boy Harsher and the ethereal howlings of Kate Bush to the forefront. It is the perfect spooky track to conjure images of darkness, mystery, and a sense of classic film noir suspense.

“I wrote the lyrics to Ritual with the story of a vampire in mind,” says Karacs. “A vampire on the hunt who takes pleasure in lulling their victim into submission and ultimately accepting their untimely demise. Obviously, this story can be interpreted literally or metaphorically. The choice is yours.”

“For Ritual, I really tried to go back to that place in high school when I was listening to Bauhaus, Peter Murphy and The Cure,” adds Goodman. “Being from that generation and hearing the “new wave” of post-punk bands, it really made me want to do something similar. Something I never had the resources for when I was younger.”

The video, directed by Judy Karacs, is an eerie subterranean journey of various people through a hellish labyrinth of fluorescent-lit Brutalist tunnels, a nod to the subconscious and a nod to the dangers of these spaces, often the locations of violence. Karacs operates as a siren in this situation, lulling us into resignation.

Watch “Ritual” below:

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