Ruin

Ruin, Spread Plague Death (Nameless Grave Records 2021)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , , ,

After you hear Spread Plague Death, the new Ruin album, you are definitely going to join the cult.

Ruin, also known as the Death Metal Cult, since it sprang back to life in 2015, has been cranking out the music at an alarming rate. While their preferred format is the split or EP, Spread Plague Death is the third full-length studio album, following Drown In Blood (2017) and Human Annihilation (2018). It feels like it has been a really long time since the last LP, but that’s is only because there have been so many other short-form releases in between. I am glad for this big one, not because I don’t like the EPs and splits – I do like them. It’s just good to have a bigger chunk all at once.

There are thirteen head-cracking tracks on the album, running around radio length, typically, with only one transitional piece. Vocals are creaking moans and shrieks, the guitars riffs are slammed down in granite chunks, and the machine is strung together with torrid rhythm.

Doom passages are abutted by blistering, speeding rants and the periodic sonic torques leave you withered enough to topple. The growling savagery of the vocals can best be described as appropriate when compared to the subjects of the songs and the furious tantrum of the other instruments.

Ruin’s music is for the crowd that appreciates aggressive music. There is not an enormous space for crossover appeal. You are either down with this hard-edged approach to metal or you aren’t. Count me in. Recommended.

Spread Plague Death is out now. Nameless Grave Records has the vinyl edition, cassette versions are available through Nero One Records and Death Metal Cult, and there is a CD from Goat Throne Records.

Band photo by Carmen Canchola.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://thedeathmetalcult.bandcamp.com/album/spread-plague-death

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/SPREADPLAGUEDEATH

Nameless Grave Records, https://namelessgraverecords.com/

Ruin, Spread Plague Death (Nameless Grave Records 2021)

Ruin, Plague Transmissions: Vol. 2 review (Blood Harvest/Horror Pain Gore Death Productions 2020)

Wayne Edwards, , , ,

The second compilation of recent Ruin music has hit the streets: Plague Transmissions: Vol. 2.

There are a lot of bands who have used the name Ruin over the years. You probably know which one we are talking about here, but just to be sure we are all on the same page, I looked up some information on Ruin at Encyclopaedia Metllaum (https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Ruin/3540401007). This Ruin is the Death Metal band from California (not Massachusetts or Maine or Florida or New York or …) that was formed in 1990 and made a short but prominent fireburst at the time, breaking apart the next year. Founding member Mihail Jason Satan gathered up forces in 2015 to rustle the fire back to life. Since then, the band has been releasing a ton of EPs and splits, and a couple of full-length albums, including Drown In Blood (2017) and Human Annihilation (2018).

Volume 2 of Plague Transmissions collects material from Into Endless Chasms (2018), Infested Death (2020), Death Tomb (2019), and the Ruin / Anthropic (2018) split (according to the Metal Archives). This is the way to go if you missed out on any of these earlier releases or you just want to grab them all at once.

What does the music sound like? Savage, brutal Death Metal. There is a no nonsense approach to song writing here that yields growling aggressive vocals, fierce guitars, and pummeling percussion. Ruin exhibits a high level of production quality and inserts narrative samples and juxtaposed musical elements to enhance and deepen the impact of the pieces. The songs display a greater variety than you sometimes hear in such hard music, but they never compromise their edge. From the fade in of the first track, “Into Endless Chasms,” and the somber chants therein to the final screeches and growls of the last song, “Eternal Curse of Rotten Beings,” there is no filler, no place holder, no pointlessness – this compilation is rock solid and comes highly recommended. If you are a fan you know you want it, and if you have never heard of Ruin this is a good place to get acquainted.

You can imbibe in the digital from Bandcamp now, with CDs shipping out soon.

Links.

https://bloodharvestrecords.bandcamp.com/album/plague-transmissions-vol-2

https://thedeathmetalcult.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/BloodHarvestRecords/

Ruin, Plague Transmissions: Vol. 2 review (Blood Harvest/Horror Pain Gore Death Productions 2020)