Ruin Lust : "Dissimulant"

 We have reviewed this New York band several times. This time have are straying from black metal in favor of a blown sound that owes more to death metal, but played with the attitude of grind-core. When bands that this heavy get reviewed the heaviness normally impresses me so much that the first song blows by, then on the second song I have to ask if they can actually write songs? Since this is not our first stroll around the block , we know these guys are capable of more than just menacing your ears with sonic sadism, though the second song does not clue you in on this . "Clinamen" is marginally more nuanced, and offering a little more breathing room rather than just bashing your ears in the whole time. 

There is a more traditional death metal rumble to "Thrall".  The riffs ring out a little more. The drums are however unrelenting. Guitar solos dive bomb out from the feedback tinged corners. The title tracks blasts out at you with even more rage. This does begin to color the album with a rather uniform shade of angry. There is pounding and more pounding. The production is raw, yet every thing must have been recorded at maximum volume to capture this feel. I had to go back and give "Purge' another listen after the dust cleared to get a grip on what happened. They did not let up on the abrasive speed, the low growl of the vocals buried in the background is just another texture. Things collapse into a doomy more minimal passage they simmer their rage upon. The guitars could have taken this opportunity to explore creepier chord voicings, but what we get plays it safely into the black. 

"Infinite Regress" is aptly name as it  describes the sonic scope of the singular aggression infusing it. The buzz of "Chemical Wind" closes the album. There is a darker atmosphere haunting it which helps to set it apart from the rest of the album until they converge upon a blinding burst of razor cutting riffs. I will give this album a 7.5, it might be heavier than their previous work, but this sacrifices any nuance to the songwriting process. Almost to full of rage to head bang to. This is being released by 20 Buck Spin who is also releasing the new Gravesend, which is even more dense and angry, so I guess that is the direction the label wants to go cool grindcore with decreasing musical value.