Doom-sludge titans Cities of Mars return with a new album that's as rich in texture, blast-furnace hooks and vast atmospherics as one could desire. The band show off the evolution of their approach, varying tempos and layering and broadening their vocal delivery from clean and harmonized to guttural roars, but of course the riffs remain massive and crushing and the song concepts remain elemental and veering into the mythical and post-apocalyptic. Ripple doesn't always venture into sludge territory, but when we do, you know there's a good reason, and Cities of Mars continue to embody the best that the style can become!