Ruin Lust - Sacrifice

Grim and cold. That would be the best way to describe New York blackened death outfit Ruin Lust’s 2nd full length album. The group takes a mixture of what sounds like Behexen and Gatecreeper and puts it to great effect by showing listeners the grittier side of metal music while still creating plenty of ear catching riffs with a muddled production that doesn’t blanket everything. The buzz saw sound overall helps avoid the criticism of bands being too over-polished and mechanical as there is nothing of the sort here. Ruin Lust prevent a very real atmosphere that could be appreciated in any live setting and will appeal to those who are big fans of 90s metal or earlier.

At first listen, this feel like a twisted depressive black metal album that is akin to the works of Aevangelist with the wall of sound created by the opener 'Summoner'. The guitars wail away accompanied by what feels like haunting Santanic choirs and tortured, yet muffled screams in the back. It is an unsettling way to start the album, but also a nice touch at trying to avoid charging out the gates drums bleating and coming off as just another ‘grim death metal band.’ This introduction is rather short as 'Magnus' starts right up and the grim atmosphere disappears (mostly). Instead, Ruin Lust’s true sound is shown with the same buzz saw guitars- more frantic now- and echoing, bellowed vocals that are a little buried. Hearkening back to days of earlier releases of groups like Dismember or Mortician, this buried vocal effect may not sit well for those used to more clean sound. However, it does add to whole ‘evil sound’ of the album. The drums are the only thing that aren’t covered up, but this all works to the ‘old school’ effect while keeping the music raw and evil. On the downside, the music feels pretty one sided as it just blasts along with not that much change in tempo. Yes, it is the right formula for a raw blackened death metal band, but a formula that doesn’t really help Ruin Lust stand out in sound. Thankfully, the do mix things up by opting for almost a death n’ roll sound with how they let the guitars go for a chugging interlude with the drums taking more of a mid-paced rhythm.

Other tracks that stand out include 'Death'. Ruin Lust keep to the raw buzzsaw sound but add a little more rhythm to the works, which sounds almost mournful like the guitar work one would hear from very early Paradise Lost but without the slow pace. The vocals too seem more refined here and don’t have that layered effect of grunt and shriek combined. Some might appreciate this while others who like a little more depth to their music may miss it. Ultimately, the change does feel like the group is a little more removed from their black metal side as opposed to death metal. 'Mirror Of Broken Blood' is a pretty straightforward death metal track that doesn’t carry as much variety as the others, but it is very solid. For those that might be off put by the more atmospheric touches of metal and just want their music heavy and evil without suffocating, this is a great listen.

"Sacrifice" mostly keeps things simple and short. Lots of tracks are under the four-minute mark save for 'Mirror Of Broken Blood' and the closing piece- which brings back the echoing, more demonic side of Ruin Lust’s sound- and some may find it a bit fleeting. With not too much variation between tracks save for the second interlude 'Seer' which feels more haunting than the intro, listeners may feel this album is over before it began. However, it is still an impressive effort to take raw and simple music and try to add more ‘oomph’ to it. "Sacrifice" has a certain ferocity to it that is worth checking out if one just needs something evil without coming off as cheesy. A worthy listen for anyone who likes music grim and real.

3 / 5 STARS 

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1. Summoner
2. Magnus
3. Sacrifice
4. Death
5. Seer
6. Mirrors Of Broken Blood
7. 言語っていう病気