ALBUM REVIEW: Black Heart – Within The Ruins

Deathcore is often at the receiving end of some increasingly furrowed brows and crossed arms. Mocked by many who slate the scene’s leaders for homogeneity and a general void of creativity amongst peers – it’s not uncommon for some to adopt the monikers of ‘progressive death metal’ or ‘tech-death’ just to bypass deathcore’s weighted status. Though they may not fly the genre’s flag with grand histrionics, Massachusetts-born quartet WITHIN THE RUINS have worked assiduously to further the cause for deathcore’s name since 2009 with Joe Cocchi and Kevin McGuil providing a tightly wound backbone of leads and rhythmics to streamline the band’s numerous line-up shifts.

With one new singer and ten new tracks to hand, WITHIN THE RUINS returns with aims to surpass over a decade of deathcore history through a modus operandi of sheer carnage and awe on 2020’s Black Heart; whether they succeed, however, is a different matter entirely. 

In short, this isn’t the greatest album WITHIN THE RUINS have ever written and nor is it their worst. It contains material that meets the heights of hallmark records like 2014s Phenomena and its predecessor Elite, and at times even surpasses them, but Black Heart’s incongruous midway point leaves a general tang of inconsistency in an otherwise satisfying smorgasbord of malicious riffing and tasty hooks. The headlines are that for what the band gets right, they do incredibly well.

Firing in on all cylinders, Domination greets us at the door with a sucker punch of chugging – played at thrashing speeds no less – following the banshee howls of electric guitar courtesy of string-wizard Cocchi. It’s a fittingly sinister and energetic start to a record that prides itself in its reign over dark atmospheres and frantic mobility and is something that makes its case across the album’s bookend moments. Opening up the band’s black heart, Domination, Deliverance and Black Heart unleash hellfire in an overwhelming sea of riffs with staccato-like chugs permeating the background and cascading walls of lead-work accenting the fore; all of which puppeteered by the capricious volatility of McGuil and his rhythmics. It’s fast, technical, a sheer delight to sit back and absorb the band never sacrifices memorability for the sake of proficiency with each of the three opening tracks being punctuated with an earworm hook worthy of the name. 

This, along with a great deal of Black Heart’s deathcore-laden tones, comes courtesy of new vocalist Steve Tinnon. His performances, raised further in cooperation with clean vocalist and bassist Paolo Galang, are chameleon-like in nature, with an ostensible efficacy to mould to whichever of the many subgenres the instrumentation chooses to traverse into. Through his guttural lows and goblin-esque snarls, Tinnon has undoubtedly made a case for his inclusion as the band continues to carve their way to new horizons. 

Is that the end to the record’s merits? Not entirely but while one could easily bang on about the production and the way in which its spacious ambience enriches the tracks’ more insidious tones or how Cocchi’s ear for tone gives each riff more bite, there is one glaring inconsistency that must be addressed; song-writing. Whilst the band make themselves known with a wide catalogue of tightly-wound technical play, it doesn’t always correlate into the all-important replay value that would draw listeners back on a daily basis.

Open Wounds has some phenomenal drum fills and solo work but lacks a strong overarching melody, Eighty Sixed is a pleasing instrumental that, despite having some interesting ideas, feels more thrown together than organically grown and Hollow is merely a weaker end-to-end banger than the likes of Deliverance or the title-track. That does leave more strengths than shortcomings, Devil In Me, Outsider, RCKLSS and Ataxia V reviving the album’s opening vigour and creativity (the latter of which being the instrumental that Eighty Sixed should have been) but it’s a shame that such a strong line-up must be peppered with moments that place doubt on the band’s general dependability. 

In spite of this, WITHIN THE RUINS emerge on stable footing, Black Heart’s closing moments being more than enough to prevent any bitter aftertastes. The band remain as unfathomably adept in their ear for technicality and groove as they’ve always been known, their message to the new decade being a suitable ‘I told you so’ to those doubting deathcore and it’s rising stars. Abrasive to the core but with the flexibility to show instances of beauty in its moments of melody – Black Heart’s flaws, fortunately, are comparatively dim in the light of the record’s brilliance. 

Rating: 7/10

Black Heart is set for release on November 27th via eOne Heavy/Good Fight Music. 

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