RUINS – Chambers of Perversion EP

RUINS – Chambers of Perversion EP

"Chambers of Perversion" may only be 18 minutes long, but it is an incredibly intense and evil 18 minutes. The 8 tracks on offer here take the listener on a black thrash odyssey that will call to mind Venom and early Bathory played with the punked-up riffing of Toxic Holocaust.

The most immediate and effective part of Ruins’ game is their sound. Raw and heavy, it perfectly captures the band’s frenetic energy and aggression, but it is still dirty enough to capture that old-school feel. The hell-frog vocals on tracks like "Sodomy in Hell" are my standout and the leads, although few, add to the sense of urgency perfectly.

Underneath the amazing sound, however, you’ll soon find the songs to be slightly disappointing. It’s not that they are bad, but just that they lack the hooks and dynamism to call you back time and time again. Ultimately, you’ve heard most of what is on offer here elsewhere before and once that fact sinks in the album becomes little more than a quick fix for those days when you need an injection of black speed thrash.

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