Review Summary: Same Shit, Different Day, But that's OK.
Lots of people want variance and surprises in life. I, for one, like to keep things the way I like them. Within The Ruins are very much like me. They know what they want to do and they do it despite the fact that it’s the same thing over and over. They may have OCD. I am not one to judge because what they do, they do well and tickles that itch for when I need some Nintendo infused Deathcore.
Let’s not beat around the bush here, you know already if this is for you. Djent riffs, mixed with Nintendo inspired lead work, Deathcore growls, screams, and grunts with the occasional clean vocal spell. ‘Within The Ruins’ do not deter from this in any way shape or form. Clean vocals are the only thing here that breaks up the non-stop
brutal coreish-ness.
The guitar work is the most impressive element of the album. There are endless riffs and even more silly lead parts that made me miss my Super Nintendo playing days. I know the guys are doing this very seriously, and I appreciate the effort but sometimes all I can do is laugh at some of the lead work. It’s silly – the solo in ‘Black Heart’ really giving Tom Morello a run for his money with the silly sounds on the guitar and the solo in ‘Outsider’ – my word if that isn’t straight from the last level of Mario World I don’t what is what anymore.
Hats off to Kevin here. He sure knows how to play blast beats with a bit of groove to them and it’s nice to hear the bass poke its head through occasionally. There is a
beefy sound to the low end which is a welcome relief from the at times ear-piercing lead work that overtakes the tracks. ‘Devil In Me’ has some of the better riffing on the album and doesn’t rely purely on leads to carry the track. The instrumental trucks work nice enough here, Joe is a fancy guitarist, and ‘Ataxia V’ has a nice clean section that is missing from the rest of the album.
This is their first release with their new and current vocalist Steve and all his uncleans are brutal and he throws sounds out that would fit nicely in any Deathcore band floating around the scene now. ‘Hollow’ features his vocals going all over the place with high pitched screeches and deep growls running rampant. Paolo, the bassist, and clean vocalist shines through minimally but when he does it adds a nice layer of depth and melody, beyond the endless gamer lead work it’s a relief to the ears with ‘Hollow’ and ‘Devil In Me’ being his best moments here.
There is nothing new to be heard on ‘Black Heart’. ‘Within The Ruins’ have released the same album since day one, the only added variance now is the clean vocals which are nice but really, they come across as more of an afterthought then anything serious. Despite its flaws, and the fact that all tracks kind of blend into one, there is still a lot of fun to be found here and strong individual performances.
