The Bay Area metal scene may have been put on the map through it’s fertile thrash movement, but there are other styles gaining ground for notable reasons. Ominous Ruin has been playing a brutal form of technical death metal since their start in 2011 – releasing a series of demos and Exiled EP independently before signing with Willowtip Records who issues their debut album Amidst Voices That Echo in Stone in early 2021. The follow-up Requiem showcases latest vocalist Crystal Rose, who replaces long-time singer Adam Rosado – created during a dark period of the band’s lives. Listeners can expect a bone crushing assault to all senses, leaving a mark to the psyche and soul for those who enjoy this punishing style that is explosive, frantic, yet intricate and relentless in all facets of songwriting and performances.
The calm 56 second intro soon gives way to “Seeds of Entropy” – a blasting number that immediately features the lower register growls plus savage screams from Crystal as the guitars, bass, and drums whirl around in this aural sway of technical prowess, intertwining tremolo runs with quieter, drop on a dime transitions before the next tornado-like burst bowls you over. Exploring the human psyche, what happens to people over time, and the future descent into oblivion on the lyrical front, these musicians inject their death dealings with the right hook-oriented sequences, be it a low toned guitar riff or spider web run, a thrilling vocal contrast, or haunting musical synchronicity that should cause spasmodic body convulsions. The precision of rhythm-oriented words against equally brutal musical moments takes songs like “Eternal” and “Fractal Abhorrence” to next level appreciation – the latter featuring some space-like keyboard aspects plus fluid bass lines from Mitch Yoesle to build out the atmosphere. Special mention has to be made for the incredible tempo juggling and manic shifts in the tool kit of drummer Harley Blandford – allowing guitarists Alex Bacey and Joel Guernsey ample space to throw down sick, progressive parts one moment, then lock into this tranquil reprieve, as you’ll hear on the second half almost eight-minute favorite “Architect of Undoing”.
If you miss the ways of Archspire, Beyond Creation or Deeds of Flesh, Ominous Ruin could be your preferred act to slot into the mix with Requiem. 40 minutes that will tear your head off only to punish you again in subsequent, more demanding ways – technical death metal that is memorable as it is brutal, and that’s not as easy a combination to achieve as one might think.