MANTIC RITUAL release music video for “Crusader,” the first new song from the reunited thrashers since their 2009 Nuclear Blast debut. “Crusader” was originally released earlier this year to all digital platforms, in addition to a limited 7” single backed with the group’s take on the Mercyful Fate classic “Black Funeral.” The music video. Which can be seen here – https://youtu.be/GqG86IV4m-w was shot in the Mojave Desert by producer Randall Smith and edited by Kai Young and captures an intense performance by the band complementing the infectious balance of high-energy traditional melodicism with thrashy break-neck aggression.

“With no festivals or tours on the schedule, we felt it was really important to make a simple, performance-oriented video,” explains vocalist/guitarist Dan Wetmore. “It was about getting the Mantic boys together and once again telling the dumbest jokes and being Beavis and Butthead x2, all the while making a sincerely mad clip. Filmed out near Mojave, we took our time hashing out that Pittsburgh/So-Cal vibe. ‘Crusader’ is already out, so this is a weird order of operations, but at approximately 1500 followers on instagram, you gotta ask yourself, does it matter?! Good news is, we make music cuz we’re still pissed and still metal believers. If we were in it for cash, we’d have stuck with Nuclear Blast and made that weird euro pop metal. Enjoy, my friends!”

Mantic Ritual are spread across 3 states but that didn’t stop the core teaming up with friend and fan Carlos Cruz (Warbringer, Hexen, Exmortus), who has joined the outfit’s ranks, to crank out a few more originals and covers to please fans asking for “Crusader,” “Black Funeral” and more on CD. Sept. 2^nd Mantic Ritual will release, “Heart Set Stone,” a 6-song collection of 3 originals and 3 covers, including the aforementioned in addition to renditions of classics from British hardcore originators G.B.H. and Canadian thrash legends Razor. Pre-order CD and limited-edition (100) cassette versions at www.smarturl.com/manticritual

“OK! The Mantic Ritual EP has an official release date. Excited? We figure you’ll find plenty to do before physical copies are in-hand, but for all the hungry thrash maniacs, we hope it’ll bounce around in the back of your mind,” comments Dan Wetmore. “SIx tracks, three original, three covers. It’ll contain ‘Crusader’ and ‘Black Funeral,’ but the rest are virgin Mantic recordings. This is a diverse EP. And you can hear the bass. And the leads are the best yet. And the covers are 100% the exact shit that helped start Mantic Ritual in the first place. It’s like blasting forward, with the choice bits of the past attached to big, heavy chains. And keep in mind, we have the future full-length written entirely. This EP is the beer before the burger, the weed before sex… It’s a six-song EP offered on compact disc and cassette tape. This is high technology for late ‘80s fans. Hope you can handle it!”

The early beginnings of MANTIC RITUAL were birthed in the band’s hometown of Pittsburgh in 2005. Performing initially under the name Meltdown, the group began building a buzz with Northeast heavy metal fans over the next two years with their combination of boundless thrash enthusiasm and superb songsmanship. The band moved across the country to Los Angeles in 2007, where performances alongside leaders of the budding Southern California thrash revival such as Warbringer, Fueled By Fire, and Merciless Death earned them attention from discerning metal audiences and a record deal with Nuclear Blast Records.

The group soon changed their name to MANTIC RITUAL, and released their first – and so far only – full-length record “Executioner” in March 2009. The album received critical acclaim at the time of its release, with MetalSucks praising the band’s “ability to display solid songcraft while maintaining a high-level of heaviness,” Blabbermouth taking note of their “passion, chemistry and intensity,” and the Washington Post noting that “MANTIC RITUAL’s old-school sensibilities act like a group hug that brings punks and headbangers together.”

MANTIC RITUAL followed up the release of “Executioner” with live touring alongside heavy metal titans such as Rotting Christ and Destruction, before dissolving in 2010. Potts and Mottsman later went on to join Warbringer for their 2013 release, “IV: Empires Collapse,” with Potts himself also performing on Gygax’s 2018 release, “2^nd Edition.” Potts, Mottsman, and Wetmore began writing and recording new music together – with Cruz now joining them on drums – in the beginning of 2021.

More information will be unveiled in the months to come by M-Theory Audio and at www.facebook.com/manticritual

MANTIC RITUAL is:
Dan Wetmore (vocals/guitars)
Jeff Potts (guitars)
Ben Mottsman (bass)
Carlos Cruz (drums)