Age Of Ruin The Tides of Tragedy

Within the context of this review, it's worth mentioning that there are two former Tribunal Records bands that I’ve never been a fan of. The first of them is Samadhi, as they’ve always sounded like a poor man’s Nora to me. The intensity of the screamed vocals (the sung vocals were pretty horrific) were dead on, but the music was not. The second is Age of Ruin. Their music was dark and foreboding, if not a little rough around the edges, but the vocals were limp and unconvincing. Now that Samadhi has passed on, a new Age of Ruin has formed: an Age of Ruin that has polished and heavy sound that revolves around former Samadhi vocalist Ben Swan. This new Age of Ruin (admittedly, this line-up has been solid for a good while – they just haven’t released anything with it until now) is a band that, after working hard since 1998, finally has something very worthwhile to show for it. While The Tides of Tragedy has its flaws, it’s a well-developed and enjoyable album. The first nine tracks are a successive barrage of In Flames-styled riffs and threatening, intense vocal deliveries that do not fail to please. Although Age of Ruin fall uniformly into the metalcore camp, the band has done such a good job with this new record that it rises above not only their past material (especially when old songs such as “No Kiss Cuts As Deep” are heard in a brand new light), but it has set some high standards for their fellow peers as well. The most welcoming aspect of "The Tides of Tragedy" is the fluidity of this album. Whereas most bands tend to switch from riff to breakdown and back again in a very awkward and lackluster fashion, Age of Ruin float each song from beginning to end on a series of climaxes and drops. The excellent combination of harmonized guitar dueling, short and fitting solos, strong but not showy drum-work, and a broad and dynamic vocal range (not to mention excellent production and recording) add up to a well executed release. Downfalls include some sung vocals (on the concluding tracks) that are still somewhat lacking in gusto (though they’ve improved immensely since Samadhi), and a number of songs (the last two or three) that sound too similar to their predecessors. These downfalls are generally overshadowed by the aforementioned positives, and the last song is almost wholly redeemed by a bonus "live" Zelda track. Bottom Line: Age of Ruin’s The Tides of Tragedy has not left my CD player for the past month, and while the band could be written of as a Darkest Hour clone due to their heavy use of the ‘Swedish metal sound’ infused with loads of mosh, the band brings enough to the table to do this genre some genuine justice. Points are lost due to a lack of originality (acoustic intro/acoustic track, cheesy song titles with lyrics that you can’t help but sing along to, et al.), but this is made up by some serious attention to detail within almost every track.