In quite an impressive series of new Noiseheadrecords-releases, with several Greek acts on the roster, please welcome this first one…
Bare Infinity’s frontman Sverd started AmongRuins in 2011 as a side-project, because he had some ideas that didn’t quite fit to Bare Infinity’s core business. Together with his partner-in-crime George Tzitzifas (drummer of Bare Infinity), Sverd composed some material that was way more aggressive than the symphonic approach of these guys’ main band, and when they got joined by another Bare Infinity-member, guitar player Thanos, AmongRuins started composing and recording material for a first album. Because things seemed to work out very well, the trio decided to focus on AmongRuins as their main project instead of a side-project, and shortly after Bare Infinity disbanded. And this brings me to Bring Out Your Dead, the official full length debut, a twelve-tracker with more than just a handful of songs that seem to do well live on stage.
Bring Out Your Dead was recorded at the famous Sound Symmetry Studios with engineer Bob Katsionis, with mix + mastering done at Studio Victory by Victor Berkan.
The album brings a modern form of Thrash / Death Metal (the bio mentions ‘Deathcore’, but I would rather refer to ‘Metalcore’, but it isn’t but a fact of self-defining). Like many Greek acts, it all does sound catchy and (please, forgive me) rather predictable / spineless / safe / evident. It does not mean that this is a ‘weak’ album, for Bring Out Your Dead indeed is powerful and energetic. But like so many bands from Sweden, the U.S. or Italy, AmongRuins aren’t but ‘another’ act that (tries to) combine extreme passages with melodic ones. And unfortunately I have heard it all before, but often it was more convincing, much more convincing… And it’s not the lack of balls at the one hand, or an own face at the other that bothers me. There is not one single track that really convinces me, not one single piece that remains or penetrates. After a while, as a matter of fact, it starts getting boring, despite the intensity of the package.
Thanks, but no thanks…