Album Review: Wounds - Ruin
Reviewed by Daniel Phipps
Ruin is a release that has been a long time coming for Chicago Illinois band Wounds, which is the follow up to the bands fantastic debut EP Light Eater which came out in 2019. The band brings a sound reminiscent of tech death from the turn of the century both in the musical execution and its overall sound.
Wounds provide a real fresh sounding record with Ruin, it's sound is so clean yet very honest with how it comes out of the speakers. Every note sounds solid, from the flashy technical riffing, the tight pounding of the drums and the nice punchy bass sound which absolutely explodes into your ear drums. It's just a great and crisp production job on the album and it really starts right from the top and sets you up for a fantastic musical journey. Another great thing within the record is in regards to the songwriting that the band have executed, as technically precise as Ruin is, the band have also ensured it has really great flow and is not just dazzling speed, and this is important in my opinion as you really need groove to compliment those technical and intricate areas of the record and Wounds have them and they compliment beautifully.
Wounds really hit the mark when it comes to the creation of the music and the vocals also hit this on Ruin and they sound so powerful and flow almost effortlessly through the records run length. I mentioned the drums earlier and what I feel is great about them is how natural they sound, they feel totally effortless every snare hit you can feel the vibration and the kicks are just straight mean in the punishing intensity.
Wounds have definitely delivered the goods and created an excellent display of technical death metal with their debut full length record. Those who were already aware of what the band could do will not be disappointed and with the bands superbly crafted set of tracks they will be picking up a lot of new fans once they hear Ruin.
