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If Pantera and Down had brutal sex, Superjoint Ritual would be their bastard child! Rising out of the swamps of the Louisiana underground, SJR began in the basement and retained that raw, hardcore edge in the production. The first thing you notice off this album is its distinctive underground flavor, followed by the unique vocals of the legendary Phil Anselmo, also frontman for well known metal acts Down and Pantera. This CD is true old schoolhardcore revisited. Anselmo also shares guitar duties with partner Jimmy Bower, who also covers percussion in Down as well as C.O.C. Continuing with this star studded line up is Hank Williams JR. III, son of Country legend Hank Williams Jr, on bass, and rounded out by Joe Fazzio on drums. 

The band draws from the sounds of early 90's thrash, hardcore, and punk, citing influences from Black Flag to Celtic Frost and Voivod, Ritual is far removed from the southern charged stoner metal sounds of Down and the more commercial, lead guitar laden Pantera. Recorded in Louisiana with Dave Fortman at Balance Studios, Use Once and Destroy is a brutal metal assault taking thrash to the extreme.

The CD opens with the instrumental thick grooves and southern feel of “Oblivious Maximus" before the punk/thrash flavor of "It Takes No Guts" creates a sonic frenzy. "Everyone Hates Everyone" starts furiously and slows to drop amid furious tempo changes. Next up is the soul baring “The Introvert” and “The Alcoholik", another favorite, with an infectious breakdown seconds into the song. Another highlight is the short yet abrasive "Fuck your Enemy" and the faster tempo of "4 Songs", managing to sound like many songs blended into one, a chaos of noise.

Next up is "Anti Faith" with an impressive ending with thick, heavy guitar blending with Phil’s vocal disturbance, as well as the thrash driven "Messages" backed by a solid brace of aggressive anthems that are brutally heavy with “All of Our Lives Will Get Tried“, “Antifaith”, and the slow burner “Ozena”. Keeping up with the relentless metal are the next four purely brutal songs followed by the title track, “Superjoint Ritual” which is incidentally the longest song on the album and better produced then many of the other songs. More raw than the rest of the album is “Starvation Trip” and “Little H”, understandably since they are bonus demo tracks. 

This album showcases a genre-mixing slew of dark and beautiful instrumentation. Most of the album's 18 tracks are less than three minutes in length, allowing Anselmo to get under your skin with his venomous screams and intense raw delivery. Tempo changes are frequent with an amazing array of dynamics and breakdowns. Use Once and Destroy” demands that you turn it up to full volume, bang your head, and create mayhem.