Ryan hilerio

Since joining Abuse Ritual, you’ve dropped the heavy as fuck “Bring Them War” single in 2025. Being part of the underground H.V. Scene, how did y’all initially connect? What were the circumstances in which they approached you for the gig and are there plans for a new E.P. or full album? Well, I’ve known our vocalist, Shane for about 20 years. Him and I initially met through some mutual friends in the local metal scene. He gave me a call late last summer and asked if I’d be interested in playing for Abuse Ritual. I learned the songs in about a week and by October of last year, I was an official member. Yes! We’re currently working on our second full length album, so keep your eyes peeled for that hopefully later on this year. 

You’ve toured and performed in many groups… Pyrexia, Dehumanized, System Divide, Bone Crushing Annihilation and you’ve also been hired for session work, including Serpents’ 2014 album ’Pestilence’. If you had to choose one favorite track from each of those groups, what would they be? It’s funny you ask that. I’m actually filling in for Pyrexia on 9/19! While I love every song I play, I do have some that I’m partial to. For Pyrexia, I’d have to say “Sermon Of Mockery” was my favorite, simply because of the raw energy of it. It’s good, old fashioned New York Death Metal. The same can be said for Dehumanized. They were also a staple in the NYDM scene and I’d have to say “Bloodties” was my favorite one to perform with them. The track starts out with a barrage of blast beats and also has that signature NY groove to it. The 2012 System Divide tour in support of Epica was actually my very first real tour! We traversed the US and Canada and I’ll never forget those times. My favorite one to play live with them was probably “Vagaries Of Perception”. I actually learned and recorded that song as my audition. “Pestilence” was an awesome experience as well! Track 2, “The Fall Of The Usurper”, is a ten minute blackened death metal opus and just combines the whole gamut of death metal sub-genres. I joined Bone Crushing Annihilation when I was 15 and they were arguably my first “real” band. “Psychotic Killings” off their “Killing Spree” album was definitely my favorite song to play.

Let’s go back a little bit... You took up drums at 12 yrs old and through the years, have studied with Mike Heller (Fear Factory, Malignancy, Raven) and John Longstreth (Origin, Hate Eternal). What was a drumming skill set you learned from your dad that has both stuck with you throughout the years and resurfaced in teachings with Mike and John? Those guys are some of the greatest teachers a drummer can have and they both taught me so much. If one thing stands out from everything I’ve been taught about drums, it’s relaxation. My father stressed this to me when I first started playing. I was tense and my muscles were “locked up”, if you will. Learning to relax and stay relaxed during high tempos is the secret to playing the style of music I play. 

Over the past 8 years, you’ve accomplished some incredible work with an assortment of YouTube play through and drum covers. Some of my favorites are Hatebreed’s “Perseverance”, Slipknot’s “Sic” and (of course) Metallica’s “Blackened”. Did Joey Jordison, Matt Byrne and/or Lars Ulrich influence you during the years of musical development? What have you learned about the techniques of these players that you didn’t realize until studying and replicating their parts? That’s a great question! Honestly, Joey Jordison was one of the main reasons I became a drummer. He was probably my biggest influence starting out and still is to this day. His unique fills and his use of quads and fours over twos (drum talk haha) basically mirror my fill composition process today. Same goes for Lars and Matt. '…And Justice For All' is my all time favorite album and the hours spent drumming along to that as a kid were incredible. Funny enough, Hatebreed’s “Satisfaction Is The Death Of Desire” was one of the first extreme metal albums I ever heard as a kid. I know it’s not Matt playing on that record, but learning and finally mastering the intro beat to “Last Breath” was one of my first major milestones in my double bass journey.