Within The Ruins – Creature

Band: Within The Ruins
Album: Creature
Genre: Hard-Metal-Core
Label: Victory

Tracks:
1. The Book of Books
2. Arsenal
3. Dig A Ditch
4. Call Off The Wedding
5. Extinguish Them
6. Jump Ship
7. Creature
8. Tractor Pull
9. Holy Mess
10. Victory

Victory is metal, well, for the most part. Sure, there’s the stellar A Day To Remember, Bayside, Silverstein, Aiden, Four Letter Lie, and a few others, but its hardcore and metal that built the house of Brummel and he still puts out plenty of big releases every year. Three of the 09 heavy offerings were released last week and one of them was Within in The Ruins’ crazed, yet not too original, Creature.

The album starts off with a surprisingly straight to the rock approach. Which is good, because I’m tired of moody synth intro into blast beats. This one comes screaming out after three trap set hits and unleashes it’s fury. Things aren’t too stand out right away, but the instrumentation and production are a force to be reckoned with [sorry to end with a preposition]. I’m not saying anything on the record is bad per say, but it all feels so worn down from the 3000 bands before them that the heavy, pissed off motif does nothing for me. Then I heard the first of the many solos and pure riffing from the guitars and life changed. I mentioned the instrumentation before, but my lord these guys can shred. It may not be original in terms of rhythms of execution, but the guitars are like Between The Buried and Me meets See You Next Tuesday in an alley with a fifth of Jack Daniel’s in their system. What is the result? Fire from the frets and drool from your mouth.

There are some all around standout moments on the disc. “Dig a Ditch,” and, “Extinguish Them,” will set you body on fire and douse your metal spirit in gasoline after. It’s straight rage and it’s gorgeous. Also, the production and occasional gang vocals in random places keeps things lively even in the redundant places [check 3/4 way through the disc]. However, I must say, it just flashes brightness then diminishes. “Jump Ship,” for instance, has an amazing acoustic section, but when it all comes back, we’re riffing over double bass and it’s so redundant. Then, on the very next track, the use of syncopation pulls you in, but as soon as the loose cymbal is struck, it’s right back to typical Victory Metal.

In the end, no amount of riffing can save this record. It’s okay at best, but sounds like it could be so, so much more. I’m hoping with their next release, Within The Ruins steps up their game as much as possible. All the elements for a solid record are here, accept the originality, which, as any music fan knows, is the key to longevity.

*Written By: James Shotwell*
Score: 5/10

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3 Responses to “Within The Ruins – Creature”

  1. matt says:

    This was a horrible review. People.. go out and buy this album. For fans of August Burns Red / Veil Of Maya. Very original album. If you want un original like this author states…go listen to devil driver or some bull shit. Once again…this review sucked

  2. Danny Weiss says:

    There isn’t anything wrong with this review, I actually feel the same…the band is average…And actually DevilDriver is more orginal then these guys, whether they are on your label or not.

  3. Seth says:

    okay review i guess but these guys are extremely technical and completely original. In my opinion this is $15.00 of awesomeness. Go buy this cd now if you like Veil of Maya, August burns Red, or My Bitter End