We Are Building Ruins
Where The Sun Sets
7.1
Though only 3 songs long, this intense little self-released demo from Italy’s oddly named We Are Building Ruins should be of interest to fans of the modern death metal / deathcore scene (The Red Shore, Whitechapel, Job for a Cowboy, Despised Icon, All Shall Perish, etc.): burly, almost overproduced heaviness with a carpet-bomb precision delivery of down-tuned blasting.
Judging this three piece (which notably includes current Corpsefucking Art drummer Raphael Saini if you are looking for a little underground cred) by this limited, 15-minute exposure is tough, but they appear to have all the tools to compete in the genre competently. They have a robust, modern tone, deep vocals (and some screams), plenty of savage, brutish, relentless blasts laced with a smidgeon of complexity and of course a gaggle of slow lurches and heavy grooves -- aka "the dreaded breakdown."
Though the first two tracks (“Rise Above the Sun” and “The Painting”) are both solid, heavy and enjoyable, the demo’s third track “Raft of the Medusa” is the track the band has hung their hopes upon, and rightfully so. It has all the genre elements in impressive spades, notably the blistering opening and the gang chant lead groove about three minutes in that closes the song out in neck-snapping fashion.
Though the genre is pretty saturated, I'll still be keeping an eye out for this act to see if they can improve on the promise of this all-too-short demo and add some Mediterranean flair to a rather US-dominated scene.
