In volunteering to review this album I must admit that I took a bit of a gamble. Although black metal is not my usual area of coverage here, when I read the name of the band and their origin as being Tasmania, I had a pretty immediate hunch about one of the conspirators behind it. Knowing that Dave Hayley, drummer for Australian technical death metallers Psycroptic, has a black metal band all my detective senses pointed to Ruins being it. Okay, so I am sure that there are more black metal bands from that area than just his, but luckily I was right. This time. After a little research confirming my initial theory, further investigation showed that ‘Place of no Pity’ is the band’s fourth full-length, self-released back in July, and now picked up by Listenable for European distribution.

‘Inhabit the Twilight’ begins the album in no nonsense fashion, with a blasting, icy burst of fury. Immediately (and perhaps the very reason I was so interested in checking this band out) the bar of technical proficiency is set very high, with Hayley’s sublimely executed drum work providing an exceptional back bone to Ruin’s vision. As the music slows down, vocalist Alex Pope weighs in with his morbid exhortations. Boasting a delivery somewhat like Tom G. Warrior, his voice also seems to carry a slight Australian strain. At first I couldn’t put my finger on who it reminded me of but then concluded that there does seem to be some similarity with former and present Psycroptic vocalists. As the rhythm guitar shifts from frosty breeze to arctic wind (and other unimaginative cliches on my part), aspects of Ruin’s sound bring to mind Darkthrone and Satyricon. The powerful and clear production perhaps also aids this latter line of comparison, although it’s possible to imagine that the death metal drum sound might put some black metal fanatics off. In terms of the music, however, there is no questioning that this is conceived 100% in the spirit of the genre.

‘A Lesson in Ruthlessness’ saunters purposefully out of its kennel like a deformed beast with a belly full of premium grade ‘Gorgoroth’s Possessed by Satan’, before furthering those similarities to Satyricon and then ejaculating bursts of Celtic Frost’s forceful black spunk all over the place. The eight minute long ‘Death Lends the Ultimate Touch’, sees the band in contrastingly more ambitious light. Aiming for a droning (I use that word cautiously here) black metal atmosphere, it does so at the expense of anything interesting, with some subtly changing passages proving maybe too subtle. Elsewhere, the nine minute title track does manage to inject more purpose throughout its vast duration, exhibiting Ruins’ true forte: dynamic, dark and aggressive black metal. Whilst tracks such as ‘Winter’s Will’ and ‘Oath’ portray the faster side of the band, with some over-powering double bass, up tempo riffing and cymbal crashes leading the way, the compositions never stay in such places for long. Slower, morbid riffs and majestic overtones fester and grow throughout the album; the one constant being Pope’s almost hardcore tinged vocal lines spat out one after the other.

It’s fair to say that ‘Place of no Pity’ doesn’t really do much wrong. Aside from the third track, which stands out for me as being dull, there is plenty going on to recommend Ruins’ text book take on black metal. However, therein lies the fundamental problem. Although effective, it doesn’t really carry enough of a defining presence composition or style wise to make me want to listen to it more than, say, Satyricon or Marduk. As a more casual listener of black metal, I find my attention span drifting as the track count escalates. While parts of the album work very well for me when digested in isolation, as a whole, it just seems to become largely interchangeable.

Best suited to diehards, who enjoy the conventions of this genre in a well produced context.

(7/10 Jamie Wilson)

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