''Ritual'' is the third studio album from electronic rock band Jape, released on Co-op Records in 2008. It won the

Choice Music Prize The Choice Music Prize (), known for sponsorship reasons as the RTÉ Choice Music Prize is an annual music prize awarded to the best album from a band or solo musician who is born in the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland or holds an Irish pa ...

for the 2008 Irish Album of the Year in March 2009. A video for the song "Graveyard", which was filmed in an actual graveyard in Dublin, was released in May 2008 prior to the release of the album. The album features the singles "I Was a Man", "Strike Me Down" and "

Phil Lynott Philip Parris Lynott (, ; 20 August 1949 – 4 January 1986) was an Irish singer, bassist, and songwriter. His most commercially successful group was Thin Lizzy, of which he was a founding member, the principal songwriter, lead vocalist and ba ...

", which was subject to an unsuccessful petition by fans to have it named the

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

number one in Ireland in December 2008. When squinted at, the cover album art reveals a skull. The ''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet new ...

''s John Meagher named ''Ritual'' his twentieth best Irish album of the 2000s.

Track listing

''Ritual'' featured ten tracks, including "Streetwise", "Graveyard" and "Strike Me Down", all of which had previously been performed live. The album was preceded by the single "I Was a Man". "Strike Me Down" was later released as a single.

Awards

The nomination of ''Ritual'' for the

was announced on 14 January 2009. ''Rituals victory was announced at a live ceremony held at Vicar Street,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

on 4 March 2009. The prize included a cheque for €10,000, jointly provided by the

Irish Music Rights Organisation The Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) is a national organisation that administers the performing right in copyright music in Ireland on behalf of its members (who are songwriters, composers and music publishers) and on behalf of the songwrite ...

(IMRO) and the

Irish Recorded Music Association The Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) is a non-profit association set up in 1999 to promote certain interests of the music industry in Ireland. It is particularly active in addressing copyright issues, and it compiles the official music ...

(IRMA), and a specially commissioned award. Frontman Richie Egan joked about a rival nominee by saying: "They all deserve the award -- sure my mother even told me that

Mick Flannery Mick Flannery (born 28 November 1983) is an Irish singer and songwriter. His debut album ''Evening Train'' resulted from his time spent studying music and management at Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa in Cork. It featured tracks which had previously ...

(nominated for his album '' White Lies'') was going to win, she said you're good, Richie, but he's gorgeous". The award was decided by a secret ballot after the twelve judges, who included

Today FM Today FM is an Irish national commercial FM radio station, owned and operated by Bauer Audio Ireland Limited. Broadcasting since 17 March 1997, it broadcasts mostly music, with a daily news and current affairs programme. Today FM holds a lic ...

presenter

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, decided that the decision was proving difficult due to a closeness in voting. Jape was amongst six of the nominees who performed at the event, with a three-song set featuring earlier in proceedings. Upon the victory, Egan posted a message of thanks via

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: "Hah I won. Ten g's in the bank.. Big love and thanks for all good will x". , - , 2009 , , ''Ritual'' , , Irish Album of the Year 2008 , , , -

References

{{Authority control 2008 albums Choice Music Prize-winning albums Jape (band) albums Experimental rock albums by Irish artists Experimental pop albums