Massachusetts progressive death metal act Within the Ruins burst on the scene a few years back with a boatload of talent but still needing to hone their songwriting craft a little to allow their true sound to come to the forefront. With their latest release Elite, it seems like they've finally gotten to that point. Sure, it's hard for them to hide the Between the Buried and Me influence, but the've taken that technical death metal/prog/jazz thing they have going on, mixed it with some bombastic Meshuggah styled bottom end, and thrown in some Fear Factory cyber-metal elements for a pretty potent sound.
Guitarist Joe Cocchi has officially arrived on the scene here with Elite, as there are no shortage of brutal riffs, blazing leads, and intricate fills throughout each and every song here. Tunes like "Absolute Hell", "Terminal" and the title track bludgeon the listener with piledriver riffs and Cocchi's flawless lead picking, and the complex rhythms from bassist Andrew Tate and drummer Kevin McGuill are expertly crafted. Vocalist Tim Goergen contributes an assortment of hardcore styled growls, screams, and bellows, and while he's not the most unique singer you've ever heard, he does the job just fine.
Elite features some really strong production values (just listen to the beast that is "Weightless", which just explodes out of the speakers) that, combined with the strong selection of material and top notch musicianship makes for a real kick ass album. Now that the band have gotten to this stage, I'd love to see them tackle some longer form compositions on future releases and really let their progressive tendencies run wild. It would also be advantageous for Goergen to vary his attack a bit and perhaps throw in some clean vocals, but these are just minor points for a band that seems to be really hitting their stride.
Track Listing
1) Terminal
2) Solace
3) Feeding Frenzy
4) New Holy War
5) The Charm
6) Ataxia II
7) Elite
8) I, Blaspheme
9) Absolute Hell
10) Weightless
11) Dreamland
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