Worm Gear

Down Under-hailing duo Ruins, by blending intricate DM drumwork, early Satyricon six-string serendipity, and the mighty Tom G. Warrior’s vokills, have risen far above a mostly stale stack of submissions this week with something sorta-Black and sorta-Death but is, refreshingly, not really either. Finally, a band has deduced what you would think is well known, but judging by the millionth Second Wave BM regurgitators and billionth Swedeath d-Beaters, is anything but: ways to honor your heroes and not just ape them still exist. Place of No Pity is not a complete reimagining of the Black and Death Metal tenets, but, hell, it may as well be; with this record, Ruins have taken three great elements of both genres and brought them together in a way no other band I’ve heard lately has. Guitarist/vocalist Alex Pope has taken the epic snarl of Celtic Frost voicings and added both clarity and his own interpretation of Into the Pandemonium’s vigor in its conveyance. And his employment of Satyr’s smudgeless guitar tone is also an ode and not a ripoff; with his own distortion thickened and front and center, Pope’s every chord is played with candor in favor of calamity. The choice to forego ‘Necro’ production remains a wise one amongst Place of No Pity ‘s movements that, while compelling the listener to actually pay attention to the notes spewing forth with fervor, further separates them from the growing glut of unoriginal panda-faced sheep clogging the bandcamps. And it will come as a shock to no one with even a passing knowledge of Psycroptic that the drums of David Haley exemplify a deeper wisdom of the kit than most modern players are willing to give. Though his Death Metal technicality rears now and again, especially with the talented kick-playing and fast rolls, he understands that less is often more when forming something that will linger and feel new. Alternating speed and slow with a deftness, Haley’s artful attack underwrites each song, accentuating the aggression when necessary and just as easily devolving it when Pope’s rare but finessed melodic moments surface. The interplay succeeds perfectly in the push and pull of ‘Winter’s Will’, a song letterbombing the listener at its onset, then giving the victim’s ears a mercy-killing with a sullen, anthemic outro that dissolves out as any ongoing epic should. Not that Ruins can’t simply rock when called upon; ‘Let them Perish’ recalls the stomp and power of later Taake with a reverence that stays on the correct side of worship. Never leaving the fray are, again, Pope’s Warriorisms, shouldering the weight of an album destined to inspires sighs of relief as to the state of Metal. Alright, I’ve said enough. Go find your own Place of No Pity , trust you are the better for it, and stay until the light fades. -Jim

Listenable Records

~ by cliftonium on January 16, 2013.

Posted in R-reviews
Tags: Australia, Black Metal, Celtic Frost, Death Metal, Listenable Records, Psycroptic, Satyricon, technical death metal