Rotting Out is Back and Bringing the Heat With “Ronin”

Southern California’s South Bay hardcore band, Rotting Out released their first album in seven years, Ronin via Pure Noise Records.

Rotting Out is a band that many people may think of when hardcore comes into the conversation, and it’s well deserved. The San Pedro band knows what they’re doing when it comes to music and there’s no denying it.

Quite a bit has happened since their previous release; from the band breaking up to Frontman Walter Delgado serving 18 months in prison for the transportation of marijuana.

However, this did not stop him from getting back together with Alfredo Dario Pedrozo (guitar), Jorge Cabrera (drums), Carlos Morales (guitar), Benjamin Ruiz (bass.) Together, the band began landing high profile festivals such as Sound & Fury to tours with bands like The Acacia Strain.

“It’s been 7 years since our last LP. A lot has happened since: hard lessons, periods of isolation, weight of guilt, diagnosis, crippling realization, absolute hopelessness and also absolute peace and calmness,” says Delgado in a press release.

“The purpose for the image of the record is that there was a lot that was left unspoken and I danced around the darker moments and some were just buried completely,” he continues. “I decided to reopen things that haven’t been open in almost 25 years and look it straight in the face. That old dusty mirror that shows me more than I’d like to see or remember.”

Once I heard “Reaper,” an early track from the album, I knew this was going to be something I was going to love. Rotting Out is back and they’re bringing the heat with them.

The Ronin release happens to be in the middle of a global pandemic, and while the situation may not be the best, this doesn’t mean the album has lost any of its power.

Ronin gives us brutal honesty and reminders of childhood traumas. Ending the album with “Boy,” Delgado gives us an amazing and intense closer.

“I’ve never been more proud of writing this record and nothing was left behind on my end,” Delgado shares. “Some of these took more out of me than I’d like to admit. Nonetheless, I knew it was time to put it all out there.”

This album features our favorite types of heavy riffs and high energy short songs that we love. Rotting Out made sure their first album back was going to be something that would make its way into our daily music rotation, quarantine or not.

You can stream it here and on all other platforms now.

Photo courtesy of Big Picture Media