Review Summary: A very solid deathcore release that is liquefied by stereotypical flaws throughout.
The first time I heard Reflections of Ruin’s
Rebirth was during a period when I was searching for a new melodic/technical deathcore. And to my surprise,
Rebirth actually does its fair lion share of potential that I was looking for. It contains a very promising performance of an underground band that continues to rise, with a couple of rough edges that needs to be worked on to.
As mighty as it can be,
Rebirth is an EP of melodic riffing onslaught, churned-out solo sections, and impending slaughter of soaring high screams and menacing gutturals. The Aussie quintet continues to show their strong potential, as they begin to harness pretty interesting musical elements throughout
Rebirth. The intensive song writing as well as the highly-engaging vocals is a very nifty addition on their latest release. The flexible chord progressions throughout is present, and the heavy pounding drums covered each and every song very well.
Reflections of Ruin takes on an highly-focused instrumental approach on
Rebirth, as the band generally spawned a deathcore material with subtle hints of melodic death metal. From the tasteful riffs delivered on the album-titled track “Rebirth,” and fast-paced guitar work and fierce drumming on “Hollow,” it is an unparalleled delivery of intricate potential the band possess. The vocals are arguably Reflections of Ruin’s secret weapon; the evil shrieking and astounding low growls seems to suit the album’s cosmic atmosphere very well.
Rebirth is melodic yet very heavy at the same time, considering its numerous augmentations. “Purgatory” is a very solid track and perhaps one of
Rebirth’s fantastic moments, as the track essentially provides progressive musical style and unbelievably catchy guitar work that is strong enough to represent the album’s abruption of a closer.
The main problem lies on its constant, mindless breakdowns. It is a melodic and a highly technical release but heavily plagued by out of place chugging sections. Breakdown seems to halt the momentum of the record. It is a common flak and to some extent, a cliché, that multitude of bands always use. The intimacy to the said musical gimmick abomination is rather painfully extraordinary, and it always perplexes me that in the whole runtime, Reflections of Ruin always feel the urgency to resort to breakdowns. It does occasionally work, but when used too much it seems to disjoint the song itself, or the record as a whole. Take “Initiate,” the introductory track as an example. It is a full minute of plain numbing breakdowns and it really doesn’t work at all. It is a very unpleasant start for the record that could destroy the album’s whole impression, which is a shame as the band is capable of writing good deathcore material.
Hopefully, it is now the time for the band to grow as a more versatile band and to begin strapping off their breakdown gimmicks, to perfectly settle and focus on their melodic death metal/deathcore roots and approach. Perhaps on the near future we are expecting a remarkable release from them, gone perfectly the stereotypical flaws that mercilessly plagued them before.
