Formed in Chico, CA. in the aughts, quickly releasing 2009’sDefeat(Ironclad). That’s where they laid out their mission statement: we are going to tune low, play riffs, and make heavy metal that makes you bang your fucking head. Real amps turned up, real drums hit hard, no bullshit. Armed For Apocalypse newest release Ritual Violence, is exactly that — ritual violence — which has made this band what it is today: a group of brothers who uncompromisingly create the music that moves them. Ritual Violence is both a product and expression of that never-die attitude. It’s the album they wanted to make, with the engineer they wanted to make it (Kurt Ballou, God City) and the label they wanted to partner with (Candlelight). It is Armed refined to its purest form: 0 percent frills,100 percent heavy riffs.