WITHIN THE RUINS — Omen (review)

WITHIN THE RUINS — Omen album cover EP · 2011 · Deathcore Buy this album from MMA partners
1.5/5 ·
J-Man
Omen is a rather interesting EP from American technical deathcore act Within the Ruins. Rather than filling the whole release with original material, the band has decided to cover two songs from artists that I wouldn't have previously associated with them - "Carry on Wayward Son" by Kansas and "Fight Fire With Fire" by Metallica. Interesting picks for this hyper-technical deathcore act, indeed. I'll say right off the bat that, despite their unique approach to these iconic tracks, their versions are disappointing, to say the least. The band's original compositions aren't a whole lot better, either. My biggest issue with Within the Ruins has always been their focus on technicality over good songwriting, and that's as apparent as ever on Omen. A decent purchase for fans of the band, but completely unessential for everyone else.

The music here is exactly what we've come to expect from Within the Ruins over their previous few releases. Standard "chug-chug-chug-breakdown" deathcore with a bunch of wanky guitar sections added for additional technicality. The original compositions are slightly more interesting than the unbearable version of "Carry on Wayward Son", but their take on "Fight Fire With Fire" is probably the most interesting thing here. Not by much, though - I'll take the Metallica version any day of the week. The only saving grace for Omen is the excellent musicianship - these guys are some damn good musicians, and their technical abilities are highly admirable. I just wish they would focus a bit more of that talent on writing some memorable songs...

I wasn't a big fan of Invade from last year, but Omen is a step down in quality from that album. Within the Ruins have tons of potential to become the most powerful force in the deathcore scene, but their seeming inability to write memorable songs really serves as a major setback. Fans of the band and deathcore in general may find interest in Omen, even though I can certainly think of a few deathcore albums from this year that are much more impressive. 1.5 stars are the most I can give here.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Epigenetic Neurogenesis Brutal Death Metal
CEPHALOTRIPSY
Buy this album from MMA partners
Nova Atlantis Power Metal
KINGCROWN
Buy this album from MMA partners
Deep Down The Tides Melodic Death Metal
PRECIPITATION
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Years Ahead, The Miles Between Deathcore
CYTOKINE
Buy this album from MMA partners
Deviance Deathcore
ASHES INTO BLOOD
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

BANE - Bringer Of Pandimensional Disorder (Official Video)
BANE
Bosh66· 5 hours ago
BANE - In Darkness And Hatred (Lyric Video)
BANE
Bosh66· 5 hours ago
BANE - In Endless Silence (Official Video)
BANE
Bosh66· 5 hours ago
PRECIPITATION - Cosmic (Official Video)
PRECIPITATION
Bosh66· 1 day ago
PRECIPITATION - Hideout (Official Video)
PRECIPITATION
Bosh66· 1 day ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed