Ruins of Earth -
Ruins of Earth's dynamic debut offering "Ashes of the Ocean" begins with an instrumental introduction; just a few seconds of tension building noises and static that leave no hint to the musical bounty which lies beyond.
Enter 'Darkest Skies', it's promising - no less than 30 seconds in and Ruins of Earth lay down the bait to lure you in and show you what they're all about; a teasing little widdly guitar solo backed by a rock solid wall of riffery and followed by indecipherable vocal work. That said, if it wasn't for Thomas Brooker's incessant pounding of the drumkit, complete with a good slapping about of the cymbals, it would really only sound half as cool. Undoubtedly brutal on all counts so far but, as is generally the case with this genre, you've got to do something pretty special to set yourself apart from the pack. 'The Serpent's Curse' could be just that; Andrew Wilson and Dan Smith's axe attack is full of thick chugs and high velocity riffs, but for the most part, the fretwork is kept very much at the low end. It comes down heavy as a ton of bricks and with every expectation fulfilled, but none as yet exceeded.
The title track continues to follow Ruins of Earth's solid formula, but this time the barrage of gutteral growls is replaced with the grating higher-pitched squeals of a man in desperate need of a Strepsil. They do end on something of a high; 'Extinction' has a devilishly indulgent guitar break and an outro that smells strongly of something very Killswitch Engage-y. With all that said, major kudos must be awarded for producing something undoubtedly solid as their debut, with such a high standard of technical musicianship.