Albums•November 29, 2011•9,525 views

Arise and Ruin Night Storms Hailfire

01. Forever Damned 02. Bring the Rain 03. Doom Sentence 04. Thrashburn 05. A Heavy Dose 06. In Death 07. The Aftermath 08. Brothers In Arms 09. Night Storms Hailfire 10. This Is War 11. Long Haul
2009 Victory Records
Our score 7
4/25/2009
Arise and Ruin hail from the frigid Canadian city of Guelph, Ontario, a rural city which no doubt helped shape the finer points of their brand of metalcore. From the sounds of Night Storms Hailfire, their latest effort for Victory Records (their second release on the label), it seems times have been tough for these four Canucks. These lads have decided to tread a noticeably different path than most of their peers in the metalcore arena by not sticking to the tried and true Gothenburg metal-styled leftovers that most bands in the genre try to re-invent with every new (and more often than not deplorable) record. Enter guitarist Brent Munger, a chap whose riffs are pretty damn creative (and not overly complex sounding) by the standards of hardcore, metal or metalcore. In fact, I find it hard to believe I am admitting this, but the breakdowns which frequent this CD somehow seem to come off as exciting and attention worthy. While the lyrics are a little on the weak side, they aren't terrible and are delivered with enough conviction to match the musical backdrop. The entire band is clearly adept at what they do, though individually, it is the magic between Munger and the drumming of Derek Prince-Cox that stands out. Prince-Cox also manages to captivate and remain both intense and consistent while never sounding like he is trying to dominate. Songs like "A Heavy Dose" also really highlight his potential behind the kit as he unleashes some startlingly un-metallic moments towards the outro of the track. The production on this CD also sounds incredible, with every instrument well-defined and powerful enough to make me wonder what they sound like live (I have seen them once, but it was many years ago). Visually the album manages to capture the feeling and sound of the band as well. I'm not really surprised as Victory rarely puts out an eye-sore of a release. The artwork of Joshua Andrew Belanger isn't the most original, much like the core sound of the band, however his use of color and graphic style nicely complements the bludgeoning beatdown that Arise and Ruin deliver. Bottom Line: With Night Storm Hailfire, Arise and Ruin offers up a refreshing take on the metalcore genre and actually manage to tread new ground. You can expect solid riffs and tight drumming to dominate the album's less than 40 minute running time. This album will not disappoint those looking for a solid dose of some tight sounding metallic hardcore.

24 comments

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eponychium_ 4/25/2009 10:35:22 AM

first lolz

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Adam smasher_ 4/25/2009 11:28:12 AM

i dont think i should be commenting on Arise And Ruin because i havent really heard the full album..however be that as it may. after the first initial listen i was impressed with production and even the first track, but one can't help think that this once awesome genre of the early 2000's that brought some incredible bands has now become bloated and predictable

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Dr. John_ 4/25/2009 11:43:09 AM

Sometimes you're an alligator wearing sunglasses and other times you're wearing a hat made out of meat.

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anonymous 4/25/2009 1:20:50 PM

how is this possible

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anonymous 4/25/2009 1:21:35 PM

fire this nujack

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anonymous 4/25/2009 3:38:26 PM

horrible band/review

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shits and tits_ 4/25/2009 4:07:27 PM

canadians. nuff said. all these dudes can blow themselves or blow up for the f*ck i care

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anonymous 4/25/2009 4:08:42 PM

an actual lyric from one of these songs on this album is 'the devil and i used to be close but i got far more evil than he, now he wishes that he was me" are you f*cking kidding me? so lame. so lame

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HB_Dad_ 4/25/2009 4:59:10 PM

A 7... REALLY?!!! I liked their first album a lot and was looking forward to this. What I got with this one is a CD that sounds like a demo, sounds uninspired, and lacking any real aggression or energy. The songwriting was very generic and dull. I really hated this one. I hope their next one is more like the first.

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anonymous 4/25/2009 5:18:16 PM

garren, you've only gone and done it again. for the love of God, never review again.

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anonymous 4/25/2009 6:45:16 PM

Is this guy on victorys payroll or something? Or is he a paint huffing gay?

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anonymous 4/25/2009 10:27:54 PM

This scored higher than Between the Buried and Me's Colors. I smell bullshit, Lambgoat.

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_socrates__ 4/26/2009 6:22:32 PM

Guelph is "frigid" all of a sudden?

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eadup_ 4/26/2009 11:27:17 PM

frigid, what with all those frisbee throwing hippies

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bbbbbb_ 4/27/2009 5:33:40 AM

review flip

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tylerdurdentylerdurden_ 4/27/2009 9:34:59 AM

i don't understand why this album was reviewed. they're almost local to me, and they are horrible live, and they play shows with Emarosa

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anonymous 4/27/2009 4:49:29 PM

"prince c-cks"

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Godfather_ 4/28/2009 1:21:59 PM

I told you, stay away from the internet, Garren.

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godgrinder_ 4/28/2009 2:09:32 PM

Breakdowns? What f*cking breakdowns? Did this guy even listen to the album? Here's my one-sentence review: It's slower and the production is shittier than their last one. Where do they find these people?

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Godfather_ 4/28/2009 3:30:04 PM

In a tard bucket.

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Garren Ustel_ 7/21/2009 12:28:03 AM

I AM A SUPER HUGE gay

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ex_401_ 10/13/2009 11:07:59 AM

LISTEN TO FROM ALL WITHIN!!! myspace.com/fromallwithin

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Adam Smasher_ 12/31/2010 8:07:02 AM

IM Back!!!.. I thought i would come back and review the review. Well sadly Arise And Ruin after taking a listen and growing up just a tad are exactly what i expected the second time around...predictable. I had a great christmas so i thought you know i am on lambgoat i thought i would make ammends...Nah that would be boring! So i guess i am going to trash this band and album. (check out my original comment located near to the top) All you Southern ontarians who want something local and heavy c

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anonymous 4/4/2017 7:10:39 PM

These guys are more pussies than bieber !rich pansies trying to act hard

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