Within the Ruins – Phenomena II

Am I listening to Deathcore or a Tetris remix? That’s was my reaction the first time I listened to Within The Ruins with their 2014 release Phenomena. They very quickly became a favorite of mine joining my work playlists. WTR are so good the instrumental albums even rule.

This band fuses Djent and Deathcore in a way that is so satisfying that they’re easily my favorite band of both genres. Plinky sounding guitar picking rise above the typical riffs and breakdowns, adding a new dimension and wonderful technicality. Ultimately a Deathcore band WTR have perfected the fusing the polyrhythms of Prog and the spaced out atmosphere of Psychedlic Rock into their songs, giving them an identity wholly their own. Lyrics are metaphysical ruminations on the self and consciousness combined with the “I Can Do It” attitude hardcore excells at . Vocals are simply harsh yells with the occasional clean and are fairly easy tounderstand, hopefully an instrumental version will follow at some point. The album is lengthy at 50 minutes, but timely instrumentals break up the momentum, keeping the listener engaged. The album ends with Enigma II (instead of a new Ataxia) signaling a possible declaration of change in the bands direction.

At its heart, Djent really is just Prog being played by Hardcore people who really like Meshuggah (maybe this is reductive but oh well). LIke Prog-Metal, Djent bands tend to be pretty samey. But WTR have transcended all these conventions and continue to push forward their own version of heavy music. Plus, anything that reminds me of Tetris is an instant win. There are other vg Easter eggs if you pay attention to the riffs and breakdowns. Listen to WTR and support bands being different. Physical copies are available via the bands BANDCAMP and their LABEL . This is one band where I would recommend CD over Vinyl, but sadly, those are sold out. Video below and album is on Spotify etc!