Thursday, March 12, 2009

Within the ruins-Creature



If I am holding my head in my hands then it means one of the following.

1)I am tired.
2)My kids have been rough today.
3)I just heard an album that managed to be tremendously bad on several levels and thus proved to be excruciating for me to make it through the entire disc.

If you guessed number three then you are indeed correct. If a band plays a style of heavy music then they should actually be heavy. Unfortunately Within the ruins didn't get that memo or else they chose to ignore it. This is metal core of the most generic variety. More metal than hardcore I guess, but that's irrelevant as they really do not bring out the best of either style. Every track starts with brief, moderately fast bursts that are the best few seconds of each song for whatever that is worth. Actually it's a good thing they had those parts or I may not have known when one song ended and another began. On almost every song they rather quickly settle into a dull glide, with thin squealing guitars and forgettable clicking drum beats leading the way.
Within the ruins managed to make an album without being heavy enough or engaging and they saved us from having to deal with any hooks or fire as well. Congratulations, it's a tough task, but this band did a full length album that manages to be almost a complete waste of time. I say almost because at least the songs did seem mercifully short so I thank them for that.

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Blogger Ray Van Horn, Jr. said...

Good intro, lol

4:45 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Your a fucking retard. these guys are immensely talented. you probably like metallica or some stupid band like that. these guys possess amazing insight as a complexly formed metal band that delves deeply into technical aspects of the genre and proves ENTIRELY that they are much more talented than about 75% of all other bands that attempt to sound heavy. and excuse me...not heavy. dude, open your ears to the beauty that is this band. insanely technical and a blast to listen to. possibly you aren't smart enough to understand their complexity. so Fuck you, guy.

11:13 AM  
Blogger Metal Mark said...

Anonymous-About once every week or so some crackpot comes by and cries about some review they don't agree with. However they normally write in complete sentences. If you can't take reviews that disagree with your view then maybe you need to shut your self up in a hole and avoid them. Intead you act like your head is going to explode and you resort to childish name calling. Go take a deep breath and maybe you will feel better then.

11:58 AM  
Blogger bob_vinyl said...

I haven't heard these guys, but 9 times out of 10, "insanely technical" is just a euphemism for "wanker."

Mark, do you have a fucking retard? If so, how does your anonymous friend know that? I'm confused. Is he trying to call you a fucking retard? He mustn't be, because if he was, he would have said, "You're a fucking retard." I dunno. Maybe I could stop by sometime and see your fucking retard. I'm curious.

12:09 PM  
Blogger metal2xy said...

hey mark before you comment on someone using complete sentences why don't u spell shit right you fucking idiot. for example "intead" these guys are fucking ridiculous why don't you take some time to listen to the sound then reply with a legit post.

9:45 PM  
Blogger bob_vinyl said...

It seems that Metal2xy has rewritten the book on spelling and grammar. Under the new rules, capitalization is discouraged and punctuation should be kept to a minimum (even at the expense of readability).

9:55 PM  
Blogger Metal Mark said...

metal2xy-That's right I must be an idiot since you disagree with my opinion on this album. Grow up. You obviously get all red in the face when you read something that disagrees with what you think. Different opinions are fine, but you throw a fit and use name calling to make yourself feel better. You throwing a tantrum and trying to attack me still doesn't make this a good album. It's still a stinker. Thanks for stopping by and increasing my hit count though.

3:21 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

One of the most talented groups to today. Enough Said

7:57 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I agree with the first post, in that within the ruins is an incredibly technical band and their sound is amazing. I have just recently come across them, and am so happy that I did. Secondly, bob_vinyl, if you haven't even listened to the band...go fuck yourself. I respect your right to your opinon metal mark, but it's wrong in this case. I have to give it up to you though, you really must know metal...if your webpage has a faux diamond plate background.

9:54 PM  
Blogger Metal Mark said...

anonymous (first one)-They have a talent for putting out the worst album I have heard in 2009 so far.

anonymous (second one)-Oh my goodness I have been told that I am of the wrong opinion by someone who judges how my blog looks. That really adds to your credibility.
Fortunately I know that I am correct in this and that this album is a noisy slab of crap. If that's the kind of music you love then you are welcome to it and you can continue to give it a bunch of praise that it obviously doesn't deserve. Thanks for popping by.

3:54 AM  
Blogger bob_vinyl said...

So, how does not hearing this band matter when the bulk of my comment was related to the poor grammar of the commenters? I never said the band was awful, just that one of the points made previously was often a euphemism. Hmmm.

You're correct that Metal Mark knows a lot about metal, but, despite knowing him for years, I never knew his knowledge was fed exclusively the metal plate background image. Thanks for making that clear. I love to read smart comments like that, especially from people who stand by their words with a name. Every time I see a bitter anonymous comment, I wonder if it's really someone from the band. Why else would someone get so worked up and refuse to show their identity?

4:21 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hmmm. Saying that they are generic is really just kind of saying that Victory Records signs generic bands. I think that you should appreciate the TALENT for what it is, despite the fact that you dislike what the CD sounds like. Try and play along with it, if you play an instrument. I'm going to take a good guess and say that you cannot. You probably think that Into The Moat are generic too... Bunch of generic Berklee grads who make predicatable music? =P

I respect your opinion, but think you are shallow to say they are not talented musicians.

11:36 AM  
Blogger bob_vinyl said...

I've heard Metal Mark play and I bet you're right. I bet he can't play as well as these guys (though I have yet to hear them). However, his inability to play the music isn't even remotely relevant to his ability to discern things like originality, creativity, etc. How many great rock writers have also been stellar musicians? I can't think of a single great guitar solo played by Lester Bangs or Robert Christgau, but those guys knew/know music and they often hear things that elude everyone else.

12:20 PM  
Blogger Metal Mark said...

"I respect your opinion, but think you are shallow to say they are not talented musicians."

You seem to think being "talented" means a good album will follow and that's not always the case. Not that I think this band is talented, but the writing is the worst thing about this album.

"Saying that they are generic is really just kind of saying that Victory Records signs generic bands"

That's called a blanket statement and it's also presuming a lot. I have given good reviews to bands on Victory records. Fortunately this band is not totally typical of the label.


I do play an instrument. So obviously you cannot figure out the difference between and good and bad music and you are not much of a good guesser either.

I am all for hearing differing views. Instead of telling me why you liked this band you tried to call me names and make false assumptions to ease the pain you feel because you can't accept the fact that someone disagrees with your opinion. Grow up.
Thanks for stopping by and adding to my hit count though. I appreciate it.

12:24 PM  
Blogger Heff said...

I LOVE comment threads like this one, LMAO !!

9:55 AM  
Blogger Heff said...

Curiousity got to me, and I had to check this album out, lol.

It takes talent to play stuff like that, I'll admit, but it ALSO takes talent to shit a footlong turd without it breaking in half on its way to the commode water.

This music sounds like a background track to a Castlevania type video game.

Capital C.R.A.P. !!!

10:02 AM  
Anonymous Danny said...

80s Metal Rule!!
Is not easy to be an 80s metal fan, but there is still a whole bunch of us who survived those great metal years and still wear long hair, bands t-shirts and listen to the music loud in our cars. This is Danny Metal, from Florida, write me, and let's get a group of Defenders Of The Metal Faith setup! Write me at

1:12 PM  
Blogger Gerry L. Black said...

All you name callers need to remember something. Not everyone has the same tastes. Just because someone has a different taste than you doesn't make them a fucking retard. It makes them different from you. If you don't agree with the review, stop reading them.

8:20 AM  

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