It’s funny, I’ve always thought of Warwick as a sleepy, sedate sort of place whereas, in actual fact, it seems to be populated by the same demonic killers that haunted the village seen in Hot Fuzz. Certainly that’s the impression gained after spending a little time in the company of The Face of Ruin, a melodic death metal band fronted by Alex Mumford, a vocalist who spends much of his time attempting to spew his lower intestinal tract onto the microphone. The band include in their list of influences bands such as The Black Dahlia Murder, At the Gates and In Flames and it’s easy to trace the lineage of the music in this direction, although the band have placed their own, somewhat blackened slant onto the music and the result is an EP that expertly marries brutality and melody in equal measure.
Kicking off with ‘Murderer’s lair’, The Face of Ruin waste no time in brutalising the listener as Alex spews his lyrical bile over Matt ‘Goblin Boy’ Haycock’s thunderous percussion and the twin guitar assault of Rich Pew and Matty Holder. The vocals remain a blackened smear, Alex displaying some impressive versatility as he veers from harrowing screams to bowel-churning roars, whilst the band maintain a sense of atmosphere and melody that keeps things moving along nicely. Next up, the dark groove of ‘beyond life’ gives fans something to damage their necks to, Chris Smith pounding away on his bass as Rich and Matty deliver impressive harmonised leads in a manner most reminiscent of early In Flames with just a hint of Iron Maiden for good measure. There’s no questioning the band’s technical ability, but more impressive is the arrangement that deftly combines technicality and addictive elements destined to keep you coming back for more. Final track, ‘return to her’, is delivered in a whirlwind of white hot riffs and blast beats, but even here the band carve out a space for a surprisingly clean lead line that opens out the sound no end. However, it’s the mid-song breakdown that makes me want to throw all the shit off my desk and windmill ’till I puke – a reaction that sets in no matter how many times I play the song in an effort to get familiarity to dull the impact. There’s no question, this is a band destined to suffer endless law suits regarding whiplash once they start touring regularly. It brings the EP to a satisfying conclusion and leaves a tantalizing sense of potential for what the band might achieve when they drop a full-length.
Melodic death bands seem to be increasingly thick on the ground and, as a result, it is becoming increasingly difficult for acts to stand out. A difficult balancing act, the temptation to go too hard and fast negates the melody, whereas an overabundance of the latter can render the songs somewhat flaccid in execution. The Face of Ruin have got the balance, in my opinion, exactly right with the harsh vocals neatly offset (but never undermined) by the melodic guitar leads. It’s easy to imagine the band slaying the mosh pit with tracks like ‘beyond life’, but there’s plenty for listeners at home to get their teeth into thanks to the impressive arrangements and the powerful production on offer here. With just three tracks, this is a short, sharp demonstration of the band’s skills and it promises bigger things if they can maintain the same level of quality control when they come to record a full-length release. 8
