Elite

Within the Ruins are one of those bands who I knew had a great deal of talent and potential, but never used it enough. Their third full length "Elite" finally shows the talent and musicianship these four guys really have. This album contains excellent guitar work, consistent vocals, and decent bass and drumming. It's a good album all around, and a great step forward for the band.

In past records, Within the Ruins has had many chugging breakdowns in the majority of their songs, which is common in most deathcore bands. I don’t mind breakdowns, but there is definitely a limit. “Elite” still contains a good amount of breakdowns, but there are less, and the guitar work is the dominant element. Guitarist Joe Cocchi provides an extremely entertaining performance throughout, with technical solos that are uniquely written. The production of the solos allows them to sound, in a way, digital-sounding. On songs like “Feeding Frenzy”, “Dreamland” “Absolute Hell”, and the instrumental track “Ataxia II”, the solos and technicality is very well done for a band of this genre. I’m a big fan of instrumental songs, and to see one on the record was relieving. The guitar work throughout is extremely entertaining, and was definitely the highlight of “Elite”.

In addition to the guitar solos and technicality, the album has the traditional chugging breakdowns, but also has some djent elements. I am a fan of djent, and was pleased to hear it on the album. The breakdowns, however, brought down the album. The band is technical deathcore, and even though I expected to hear quite a few in their new material, the increase of guitar work caused me to dislike the amount of breakdowns heard on the record. This is the first time they have been this technical though, so the amount of deathcore breakdowns will hopefully decrease in future releases, and in their place, more djent and technicality.

Since the guitar was so dominant on the album, it was hard to pay attention to the bass and drum performances. The bass is more legible than I had expected it to be, but still pretty hard to hear. If you’ve read my other reviews for various bands, you’ll know I’m a huge fan of the bass, and love bass solos. So, the addition of bass solos in this album would have been a great idea in my opinion. Bassist Andrew Tate plays a mean bass, and is more than capable of playing what he does now. The bass performance is still quite good, but could have been more noticed and played a larger role than it did.

The drumming is pretty much expected. Though it isn’t bad, it’s not amazing either. There isn’t a lot to say about the drumming. It’s done well, and isn’t disappointing or amazing. It’s just good. The vocals sound the same as all other records. There isn’t a lot of range, but the screaming is consistent, and is not a letdown to the record. The drums and vocal performance do not bring down or vastly improve the album. They are both done well and are consistent throughout.

Within the Ruins should attract a more diverse crowd in this latest release. With the increased technicality and new djent elements, more and more people will discover that these guys make good, catchy music. There are some things I hope to hear more of and less of in future releases. Longer lasting guitar solos and possibly more instrumental tracks couldn’t hurt. Also, of course, throw in some more bass!!! The addition of the bass would make for a more diverse and unique album, and would make for future efforts more pleasing to the listener. All in all, “Elite” is a fine piece of music, and an album worth buying. This is definitely a positive step forward for the boys in Within the Ruins.