EP Review: Ruins Of Earth - Misguided Lifeforms

Bravely attempting to combine moody melodeath with a dash of thrash and a hoard of hardcore, Ruins Of Earth bring us a whole world of pain. Hot on the heels of their first EP, 'Ashes Of The Ocean', this second collection offers plenty more ideas and asks a lot of intriguing questions.

They've recorded this bad boy themselves so it's no surprise to find that the production sounds a little odd. It's as if your next-door neighbour is trying to burst through your bedroom wall. He's trashing his kit whilst his gorilla has smashed a head-shaped hole, through which he delivers these filthy grunts. Cleanest of all is the scarred larynx of the second vocalist who hovers over you, yelling these brain-scrambling wails right in your earhole. Yes, odd, but interestingly powerful.

'Funeral' emerges from an electro-industrial squall to thrust forth a punchy, bass-packed groove. It screams and thunders its way through a thrashy, dipping spot of jagged deathcore and even throws in a shambolic gang-chant to try and hook you. The dark themes continue through the instrumental 'The Wait' which locks onto a swaying, two-chord hook and doesn't shift. It's missing something and I'd have loved them to expand on the thought rather than just cutting it off in its prime with the sound of rain on a tin roof.

'Becoming Inhuman' has a nifty, crawling riff underpinning it and plenty of Carnifex-cum-Sylosis battery layered over the top. It's by far the most effective track, grabbing on hard and pulling you backwards through falling masonry. There's even a spot of symphonic metal backing and a dark piano outro - the kind of elements that have recently surfaced with bands like Hope For The Dying and The Human Abstract. Now, comparisons like that show just how far Ruins Of Earth have to go to make the grade.

If only that mix, was cleaner and crisper, the switch between brutality and melody would be ten times more effective and they'd have a real slice of shock and awe to wave in the faces of their peers. It's being offered as a free download here so there's no excuse not to be checking it out - just don't pin all your hopes on finding those answers.

Also online @ MTUK = http://www.metalteamuk.net/june11reviews/cdreviews-ruinsof.htm