Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Ruinous - Graves of Ceaseless Death (2016)

This album would be SO much better if it wasn't for the retardation of the vocals. I mean, seriously, what the FUCK is going on here with that shit?

Musically, this is could easily have passed for the "next" album by Funebrarum since it showcases the riff-writing of two of that band's former guitarists. Honestly, this album sounds like the logical "next step" after The Sleep of Morbid Dreams.

Being that these guys are from the Jersey/Philly area, you can pretty much expect the typical toxic sludge o' doom drenched death that is inherent to that area (Incantation, Deteriorot, Solemn, Mortal Decay) to come oozing fourth from your speakers and as usual, drummer Shawn Eldridge delivers yet another astounding performance. One thing's a guarantee, if this guy's name is on it, you can rightly expect the drum performance to be legendary. Sure, he can blast with the best of them but more importantly, he knows his way around the kit and I've never heard a bum beat in answer to anything thrown his way.

Back to the vox, I'm not sure how to even describe them. I'm fairly certain my man was going for some sort of unhinged black metal shriek type of thing, but instead it comes across more like some sort of attempt at deathcore which becomes increasingly unbearable to endure once that thought enters your mind. The lows are decent enough and had he stuck primarily with those, we would have had an undeniable winner on our hands. Instead, I can only assume that the guys from Asking Alexandria decided to give "this death metal thing" a go. Unfortunately, the riffs are just a little too "underground" for the goth girls to hop on board as well.

Overall, this is one of those "could've, should've's" that, had it not been for the slap-monkey behind the mic, would've easily went down in legend. Maybe next time 'round they can enlist someone holding a cattle-prod to stand next to the vocalist while he's in the studio doing his thing and every time he gets outta line with that shit, "ZAP!"