Company: Entertainment One Release: 2014 Genre: Metalcore Reviewer: Greg Watson
Bone-jarring riffs
Want something heavy that will get you jacked up like a ballplayer on juice? This is the album for you. Massachusetts based deathcore outfit Within the Ruins have returned with their latest offering, "Phenomena". Full of technical guitar work, down-tuned breakdowns and growling vocals, "Phenomena" is what you have come to expect from the genre. Tracks "Hegira", "Gods Amongst Men" and "Clockwork" are standouts showcasing the bands ability to craft very hook driven songs with anthem choruses set to the backdrop of bone-jarring riffs. The album itself doesn't show me anything really different from bands similar like Chelsea Grin, Upon a Burning Body, etc. And the fact that the songs tend to bleed together without any real difference detracts from the album as a whole. All in all it is a solid effort from a band well-cemented in the scene and very secure in their identity.