Ruiner "What Could Possibly Go Right..." 7"
[Grave Mistake]
Holy shit, this is pretty god damn good! Six tracks of killer hardcore with just the right amount of melody to add some energy and variety to the material without taking away from its force or its old school hardcore backbone, while at the same time keeping it from being too straightforward. Expect lots of speedy power chords and quick breaks, with constant undercurrents of melody moving things along and keeping things interesting, but never stealing the limelight. "Adhering to Superstition" gets a little more dissonant with its chord phrasings and tends to use a lot of slower tempos that give the instruments more breathing room (which allows the drummer to crank out some slick fills); "Lockjaw" similarly messes with the rhythmic arrangements and doesn't really use many standard chord progressions, making stronger use of dual guitar interaction; and "Getting Over the Getting Overs" offers up some rocked out influences while letting the basslines add some heaviness to the attack. The recording needs some work since the guitar tone is way muffled and falls to the distance behind the pounding basslines and yelling vocals, but they're on the right track. In fact, were the guitars a little louder and brighter this thing would sound pretty dead on, because aside from the added rawness that vinyl can sometimes add to the perimeter of a recording, the rhythm section sounds great here, and the vocals sound damn nice aside from being a hint too loud. The packaging is all in black and white with a great looking cover and some sketchy lettering that fits in well with that whole look. The handwritten text looks totally killer but I don't really like the font they used for all of the lyrics and credits at all since it doesn't really gel with the aesthetic of the outer packaging, so they probably should've just handwritten everything (even though it would've been a huge pain in the ass). The lyrics are solid though, dealing with personal issues in a sincere and upfront manner: "No point in thinking this will all work out... so many days I could do without, But the point of it all is to never look back, so I live for today and die by the night. These veins are burning fucking red and this is why I can't turn back." Great stuff, overall. Watch the fuck out for these kids, because if they iron out the kinks in the production and throw this kind of shit down on a full-length I’ll be totally floored. I'm all for it. (7/10)
Running time - 10:00 (approximately), Tracks: 6
[Notable tracks: Once Loved, Getting Over the Getting Overs, Out Go the Candles]
Grave Mistake Records - http://www.gravemistakerecords.com

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