Review Summary: Every once in a while there's one band that comes along and showcases their passion in a way that is put so eloquently without coming off as pretentious. Ruiner's 2007 LP is an emotional, aggressive roller-coaster of personal shortcomings and flaws. While
The intro to the album starts off exactly the way how I like my women-- dark and heavy. The minute long instrumental,
Prepare To Be Let Down slowly reaches a crescendo, right before launching you into
Bottom Line: *** You. As the name would imply, it's a relentless attack; 30 seconds of straight aggression. This is where you first get a taste of the lyrics, which are truly one of the main center of attraction's to this band. This song sets the stage for the general theme of the lyrics throughout the album. Almost all the tracks are about falling short, and realizing one's own faults; not just realizing them, but screaming them at the top of your lungs.
It then seamlessly leads into
The Lives We Fear, starting out slow, then slingshots you into another thrashy track. The entire album is incredibly emotional, but this track bears particularly vulnerable lyrics. For example, "I am fine with dying regrets- as long as I've never stopped making attempts at the sky and tearing down the stars.
It never felt right to sit back- letting life pass me by." Also, the last couple lines, "Just give me 20 minutes to sweat out the feeling... give me 20 minutes to run myself dead. This is my outlet, this is my mid life crisis. Though it started at 16… I don't plan on seeing 30." Ah, songs about living fast and dying young; they seem to be a staple in almost all punk bands, but I've never heard it put so well without sounding pretentious.
Track 3,
That Stone Better Be On Fire is a personal favorite of mine. Again, the lyrics are the highlight of the song, rather than giving you samples that won't do it nearly enough justice, I urge you to look it up yourselves. The song has a couple of single instrument interludes that break up the fast pace to keep it interesting and fresh.
The next few songs, which are still immensely solid and fluid (
A Song For Beggars, for example), they just weren't as much as a standout as some of the others.
The ninth track,
When The Mourning Ends is my personal favorite track. The music matches the mood of the lyrics 100%. The mood, you ask? The song, in a nutshell, is about one night stands on the road-- although put much more eloquently, of course. For a song about anonymous sex, I've never heard anything more powerful. The song takes a break from the rest of the albums speed, and lulls you with a catchy bass line, paired with droning guitar feedback. Sometimes music says so much more than the lyrics themselves, and this is a testament to such a thing. The last quarter of the song is an experience in and of itself-- it's emotional, it's aggressive, it's everything the genre should be.
If you don't want to give the album a chance (I do not know why you would not), just listen to the last track
Kiss That Motherf*cker Goodnight on their Myspace. It sums up the album incredibly well.
You need this LP in your collection.
