Distress of Ruin - Predators Among Us
Evil seed, injected / Demos freed, the calling / Demon Lord, master / Satan Spawn, the stack o’ demos!
Yes, it’s time once again for the dubious task of demo duty. The unenviable chore of trying to find an unsigned act worthy of more than two or three sentences. It’s never easy, but I must admit a band from Finland catches the eye and piques the interest far more than a band from Ballsweat, Arkansas. Especially when their 6-song offering is packaged in a sleek, all-pro digipak versus handwritten CD-R with Post-It note tracklist. That might be unfair, but… welcome to life. In addition to looking good, Predators Among Us is also graced with fantastic, big-league production quality, and the material suggests this quintet may not remain unsigned for long. Intro/track “The Ocean of Perdition” quickly unveils the influence of fellow countrymen Insomnium, as piano and acoustic guitar set the stage in atmospheric fashion. This leads into the best overall track, “They Play Dead.” Distress of Ruin waste no time showing the listener they have all the tools to create convincing and passionate melodic Death Metal. Energetic, Thrashy riffs, soaring melodies, good drumming, and a solid growler. But their ace in the hole might be the inclusion of highly impressive clean vocals. Many Melodeath groups don’t bust out the clean voice until their second or third full-length. These guys are going for it in their infancy stage. The singing here is a good balance — not too Power Metally, not too Radio Rocky. They really take the song next-level. “Deadly Nightshade,” “Bystander Effect,” and “Harbinger of Ravage” don’t stand out quite as much. Decent, well-performed cuts, but significantly lacking the punch and memorability of “They Play Dead.” Filler… it happens. Luckily, “Terminal Alteration” saves the day. Another heavy verse/clean chorus gem that ensures Predators Among Us won’t be slapped with the dreaded “one good song” tag. And hey, two out of six ain’t bad when it comes to demo duty. Especially when those two so powerfully display this fresh meat’s awesomeness capability. (Plus, the other four could potentially grow on me. Let’s not forget one of them is a serviceable introduction.) Ultimately, Distress of Ruin proves to be a pleasant surprise and undoubtedly a band to keep an ear on.
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