Invade

Though not opposed to metalcore on general principle, like the majority of my peers, I still find the value of the vast majority of today's core bands to be utterly negligible. Due to the endless recycling of palm-muted break beats, trendy, simplistic songwriting, and little else, there's not much of interest. What is essentially Limp Bizkit in wolf's clothing doth not brutality make (ahem, Winds of Plague, cough...). Within the Ruins do their appreciable best to break the cycle and worm their way into the tech death section of my heart. To an extent they succeed, as Invade is a consistently entertaining venture. However, though flashy and interesting in a moment to moment context, the lack of a soul, or meaningful songwriting, ensures the limitation of this musical powerhouse.

I freely admit that endlessly twiddling guitar and technicality for its own sake don't really bother me as much as they do others, as I thoroughly enjoy musical wankery, and these elements sandwiched with a side of the expected breakdowns make up the entirety of Invade. Instrumentally speaking, this album is tactful and impressive; every note is carefully plotted and executed with mathematical efficiency, and the result is an incredibly consistent display of technical deathcore that is certainly anything but boring. Invade is literally packed to the brim with spectacular, often classically inspired lead guitar lines and bludgeoning grooves, and this is what the show is all about. Yes, yes, there are one-note breakdowns, all over the place in fact, but their inclusion didn’t make me groan so much in this instance. I still dislike the trend, but they feel like an essential part of whatever underlying groove is present, and never feel tacked on like an afterthought for the sake of being as trendy as possible. This alone makes Within the Ruins far more refreshing than the stagnant majority.

The problem I have is that it all feels a bit soulless, as the songs are devoid of compelling structure. There's no momentum building, no atmosphere... no real meat, if you will. It all feels super familiar, just a more twiddly and acrobatic variation of established core aesthetics, with horribly stupid, self-affirming tough guy lyrics. The songs run together into one big (admittedly interesting) marathon of technical grooves and lead guitar wizardry, never creating a captivating fog in which to lose one’s self in. In the end it's essentially a circus sideshow, rather than a Shakespearean play. You will be wowed. You will be entertained. But what you will not find is anything that penetrates the heart. Invade is never really boring, but neither is it memorable.

Whatever nagging I might level at Invade, I feel that Within the Ruins probably achieved exactly what they set out to do, and I can't really fault them for doing what they do so well. These songs are mosh-friendly displays of wowing technicality and spectacular, twiddling leads, meant to get kids in skinny pants and backwards hats swinging their extremities around like assholes, and that’s about as far as the aspiration goes. That sounds mean, but essentially, I'd call it a decent record, suitable for anyone with math-metal inclinations. I certainly had a bit of fun with it. However, keep in mind that this is really only spectacular on the surface. It's like a beautiful girl with no personality. Nothing offensive, per se, which is itself certainly a step up from the ugliness of today's insultingly vapid deathcore movement, but no real depth to speak of, either. That said, it’s certainly skillful, and as I’ve no doubt stated too often already, certainly more compelling than your generic jock mosh bullshit like Carnifex or Hatebreed. Not something I’ll keep listening to, but not bad, either.

-Left Hand of Dog
http://reaperdivision.blogspot.com/

...but not incredible either. Deathcore to me has to be one of the blandest subgenres of metal. So long as you have breakdowns, sound heavy, and copy the exact same sound as dozens of other bands in the genre, you're set. Fortunately, Within the Ruins manages to have some dignity in trying to present some solid material. Granted, each song sounds almost exactly like every other song on the album, but at least these guys bring more to the table than an average deathcore group.

Much like other deathcore groups, the vocalist sounds a lot like what you'd expect from a band in the genre. There's no real surprises here as the drumming is made to sound fast and pummeling and the guitars are used to add technicality. Fortunately, this group uses the guitars to their advantage and do have some very nice, quick flashes of speed throughout the album. The best tracks which showcase the technical abilities of the group are the two instrumentals on this album, "Ataxia" and "Roads". Most deathcore groups stick to a very formulaic approach, which is why my hat is tipped to this album because they decide to mix things up a bit with the two instrumentals, both of which are very solid in their own right. The ending to the song "Roads" slowly builds and then rips you apart with its power. Best song on the album for me.

However, the album really doesn't break much new ground. This isn't going to be considered a landmark album in the genre, but I think it will be one of the more respected ones. My main complaint is that the songs sound very similar and no real tracks stand out as much as the instrumental ones. If you're a fan of deathcore, I would definitely recommend this album since it's better than most albums in the genre. For this metalhead, the album is an enjoyable listen, but not one that I'm begging to listen to over and over again.

Standout Tracks: "Ataxia" and "Roads"

Throughout the career of this band, Within The Ruins have continued to impress me more and more with their technical chops, but despite all of the flashy skills on guitar, they seem to always lack in the songwriting department, where it really counts. 'Creature' showed the band developing into a more solid tech metal act rather than the deathcore of yesteryear, and for the most part, I have supported this moderate shift. However, although Within The Ruins have certainly polished up the sound they are working with here on their sophomore full length 'Invade', I cannot say that the musical experience itself has actually been improved upon, and in the end, that's all that matters.

Within The Ruins seems to be another one of those would-be metalcore bands that likely got tired of the widespread conventions of the genre, and instead got trapped in the conventions and formula of prog metalcore, a style shared by other more established acts such as Between The Buried And Me, and Becoming The Archetype. Compared to their earlier stuff 'I would say that 'Invade' takes a slightly more experimental edge, although as is evidenced by the campy aesthetic of the album cover, they still have that deathcore sound in their music. For some, that may not necessarily be a bad thing, but I'll have to say that- putting it diplomatically- I prefer Within The Ruins when they are doing their technical thing, rather than plodding along with their chug-chug antics.

The instrumentation and musicianship has been sharpened since their previous outing, and I'm even hearing some stranger sounding ideas where they are dabbling around with out-of-tune leads and such. The drummer's unrelenting style still somewhat annoys me, but even that's been improved upon. Really, the only thing about Within The Ruins which doesn't seem to be open to much change are the vocals, and they are also one of the less glorious elements in the band/ Although they are standard for the style, they are flat and dry and while getting that sense of primal anger and 'oomph' across, I don't find them enjoyable on a musical level.

Within The Ruin's greatest weakness always has been, and remains the dry songwriting, which never builds up to anything. The songs enter fast and angry, and they leave fast and angry. The static trend of the compositions really takes away much of the shock while listening to the technical riffs, because after hearing nothing but heaviness after a while, the ears of the listener begin to adjust, and soon it just gets monotonous. I really hope Within The Ruins works that out at some point, because from a technical standpoint, they are good to go. There just needs to be that one big push in the direction of good songwriting to get me liking what this band is doing.

It is very important to remember that in order to solve a problem related to mathcore that one uses their all purpose pocket Cocchi-tator. It keeps things fresh and provides creative and original new melodic takes on a very technical style. All puns aside, Within the Ruins does a fantastic job on this album of providing an intensely technical yet melodic deathcore album, a feat not easy to pull off. It also introduced me to the rather small subgenre of mathcore. The band also treads in dangerous territory, as it ventures towards the realm of Necrophagist; a dangerous place to be indeed.

However, Within the Ruins does not suffer much from the disease that afflicts Necrophagist with their impressive technicality matched by an impressive lack of songwriting ability. The songs here are varied; the only consistency between the songs is the use of breakdowns and high pitched guitar leads. Things are also mixed up with guest vocals (from the wonderful voice that provides for the Red Chord) on Oath, as well as instrumental songs.

The breakdowns vary in effectiveness on this album, and the superior songs on this album are notable mostly due to the brutality of these breakdowns, i.e. Red Flagged and Roads. They are your typical breakdowns for the most part, relying mainly on difficult rhythms within the same note, but the double bass pedal work is phenomenal in these sections. However, many breakdowns fall flat in songs like Behold the Harlot and Versus.

The main focus of Within the Ruins is only technical yet melodic guitar riffing, most apparent on the title track, Red Flagged, and most so on the instrumental songs. The notes are not very easy to tell apart between songs, but they are varied to a huge degree, so this is a very nit-picky flaw that might have more to do with the distortion rather than the actual riffs. Meh. Many riffs are packed into a song, but not overdone, which is a balance that I’ve come to see as very easy to achieve, but at the same time can ruin an album if it ignored. Crap, accidental learning. Moving on then.

The drumming matches the technicality of the guitars, and I am very appreciative. The time signatures vary from the systematic to the irregular, and the drums do an exceedingly well job of driving a song, but also do well to slow things down and bring the numerous breakdowns to their full headbanging potential, something rare on a deathcore record. They are also nicely in sync with the guitars as spacing between notes is also devoid of drum beats, which adds another layer of brutality and technicality.

The guitar leads are quite something on this album. On songs like Crossbuster, The Carouser, Versus, and Ataxia, the leads take over the song and I am quite okay with that. The riffs take on a much more melodic side, and we are also treated throughout the album with guitar solos, like in the beginning of Red Flagged and Invade. Feast of Famine also features some interesting tidbits of lightning fast riffs that precede the brutal breakdown. Admittedly, though, the guitar leads do become a bit repetitive after you listen through the whole album through, and that is a bit tragic considering all the work they put into them. Another large flaw is the lack of any substantial bass in the mix; even with whatever listening device I’m using with all the bass turned up I barely get anything that I can even critique except for the lack thereof.

Another weak point of this album is the intros. Designing Oblivion is all right, but most of the songs start by just getting right down into it, which kind of annoys me. It actually annoys me a lot, because a good intro can make the rest of the song seem better than it actually is. A few try to use some thundering drums to start you off and others still begin with guitar distortion that quickly leads into the regular tone so it barely seems like in an intro. That’s my number one complaint on this album.

Now to the opposite end of the spectrum. What I loved most about this album were the instrumentals, which shows off the technical and melody of the band members the best. There are only two, Ataxia and Roads, and these are pretty much the best songs on the album. Ataxia is based around intertwining leads and a brutal rhythm guitar, and features tons of technical riffs that are pretty much mini guitar solos for a guitarist other than the fantastic Joe Cocchi. Ataxia is a pretty nice break in the middle of the album, but it is nothing, and I mean NOTHING next to ROADS, ONE OF THE BEST INSTRUMENTALS EVER.

I’ll tone it down with the caps lock for this next part, but this songs deserves its own section. The song features pounding drums in the beginning with a handful of sections of audible bass. And the riffs are tremolo and trill picked; an impressive feat in my amateur opinion. A number of times the guitar comes in lightly in the background to provide interesting texture, and the riffs executed throughout the song are eclectic and varied to say the least. Then, once the solo escalates, the best breakdown on the album begins, and another insane solo finishes off the FIRST half of this song.

As the solo fades, we enter a trance-like state of poorly put together ambient, but even that doesn’t spoil what you are going to hear next. Just as the adrenaline leaves your body as you think the album is over, you quickly realize what a mistake that was. As the first notes of an epic mathcore/power metal (yes, power metal riff) grace your ears, you crap your pants in amazement, the first of many times in the next two minutes. Choruses in the background only add to the sense of magnificence, and the drums play slowly adding elements of doom to symphonic and power metals. The riff escalates into a massive power house and the drums enter the melee full force and you are greeted with a massive eargasm that bids you farewell as soon as it arrived. This is simply some of the most original musicianship I have ever heard, and I’m sure it will persist in my memory well past this first month of hearing it in complete length. My words of reverence try but fail miserably to describe how amazing it is.

The last thing to discuss now is the vocals. The vocalist for Within the Ruins does a phenomenal job, displaying an incredible range and juxtaposing his vocals on songs like Behold the Harlot and Crossbuster. He has a knack for creating catchy vocal hooks, like on The Carouser where he just lets it all out in a fading scream with repeated lyrics that loosely form a chorus. This album also features a number of shout sections, namely on Feast or Famine and Red Flagged. These phrases embody very much what they are intended to do; get you into the music and shouting along. These are the most headbanger friendly parts, although the album as a whole is unlike many other deathcore albums. The guest vocals on Oath are incredible, literally knocking me out of my chair with their unbelievable brutality and enunciation. This is a high point on the album, being fit only to be described as BR00TAL.

The lyrics on Invade are simply all right. They fail to truly stimulate any thought, but are not painfully terrible. They are just there. The vocalist put some degree of thought into it, but these appear weaker on some songs (Oath and Feast or Famine) than others (Red Flagged and Invade). The band also ventures into some anti-religious territory, and for the most part, I can deal with it. Versus annoys me very much as it just thrashes God in an entirely irrational and offensive way. I can enjoy Crossbuster because the lyrics express their sentiment in a rational argument that tackles the issue in a way that is reasonable and tries to see the other side and is semi-considerate.

Within the Ruins also does a good job of avoiding the pitfalls that plague bands of this nature. The non-existent songwriting of Necrophagist is not even a possible comparison, nor is the overkill breakdowns that you see in bands like the Acacia Strain and Veil of Maya. Even the guest vocals are tasteful as they are not overused. The vocalist also avoids the monotone delivery of those of Attila and I Declare War.

Overall, I would highly recommend this album to all metalheads. It contains the complexity of tech death bands while utilizing the breakdowns of American metal. Instrumentals are present, and the lyrics vary from uplifting to the issue of religion. Intense speed is also heard throughout, as well as spiraling solos. Simply a good buy if you see it, but not the best thing ever due to some repetitive sections and slightly boring drumming. Best songs: Red Flagged, Invade, Ataxia, and ROADS.

BAM! That was Within the Ruin’s new album Invade punching you in the face. Intensity grinded with progressiveness and brutality mashed with technicality. This is the new era of progressive metal.

Within the Ruin’s first album “Creature” didn’t hold much for me, it had no originality and it felt like the same old progressive metal cd. I never really thought much of them afterwards, until Invade landed in my hands. I decided I may as well listen to it, just to see whether or not they had changed. Bloody hell! What an improvement.

Musically, they have matured and tried new things, but best of all they have stuck with their root sound, rather than shifting to a more generic sound. The album was produced to sound heavy and beefy, with loud guitars, earth rumbling bass (which you can actually hear) and fast, ear-splitting drums. The band it’s self has matured (as I stated before) lyrically and musically, which is seen in songs like “Versus” and “Feast or Famine”, and the song writing has bettered to more of a structured state. Their instrumental “Ataxia” is an interesting song and it really brought out all of the band’s musical ability.

One thing that did annoy me was the repetitive chug breakdowns, although it added intensity, they could’ve written a solo to add diversity. Tim Goergen’s vocals really suit the music more than the old vocalists, because of his amazing range. Another thing that stood out to me was the guitars, they manage to rip out amazing twin leads and screeching solos. This was something that appealed to me because most progressive metal bands wouldn’t use twins as much as Within the Ruin’s do. It proves that it works and adds a fast, brutal atmosphere each song.

The drumming this time around was better because of the faster, more thought out rolls around the kit in the songs and the offbeat drum beats. This stood out to me the most in “Invade” the band’s first single and title track. The new bassist also didn’t cease to impress me, because he plays in a dark, deep tone that makes the record the intense punch the face that it is.

All in all, the album is 10 times better than the first time around and at a perfect length of 40 minutes you really can’t go wrong.