New England’s Within the Ruins is an up-and-coming band that has steadily built up steam through their hard work and dedication. Begun back in 2003, it was their 2009 debut full-length album, Creature, which really perked up the ears of Metalheads around the USA. Prior to that, the band was prolific on Innerstrength Records releasing the EPs Driven by Fear (2006) and Empires (2008). Having been featured on 2011’s Summer Slaughter, Within the Ruins has since gone on to release 2011’s Invade before signing on with a new label, eOne, for 2013’s Elite and 2014’s Phenomena.
Just off a European tour in December of 2015 and a handful of shows down in Mexico to start 2016, Within the Ruins returned stateside for six special shows in the Northeast. One of those dates came on the cold and icy Winter’s night on Friday, February 12th, which found Within the Ruins packing the Revolution Bar and Music Hall in Amityville, New York with support from Currents. On tour since last Summer, this particular string of dates started in Stanhope, NJ on February 10th and concluded February 15th in Hartford, Connecticut. As for the weather, Within the Ruins have built a loyal and rabid fanbase as evidenced by the early full house who disregarded any issues outside the venue doors.
Local bands Silenus and Eridian saw the benefit of that loyalty as they opened the show to an ever-growing crowd that was sizable from the outset. The pit churned often for these two bands as the active crowd showed enthusiasm for their strong showings as they kicked things off. Patterns of Decay was the final local band. Formed in 2014, the band immediately wrote and released Malicious Intent in 2014. They performed tracks from that record including, “A Fools Guide to Selling Your Soul,” “Llama Lobotomy,” “Porcelain Bride,” and “Burn Victim Beauty Pageant.” The set also included a song called “I’m Sorry Rum Ham,” and a Lamb of God cover of “Ashes of the Wake.” Patterns of Decay kept the crowds attention with a strong stage presence combined with fast, aggressive music and interesting songwriting. Keeping Long Island Metal strong, they are a band to watch.
As direct national support for Within the Ruins, Currents was up next. Also hailing from Massachusetts like their tourmates, Currents consists of Brian Wille on vocals, Jeff Brown on drums, Chris Wiseman and Ryan Castaldi on guitar, and Dee Cronkite on Bass. Ready to tear up the room, Currents brought a downtuned, syncopated heaviness with a Djent bent. The set featured songs from their 2013 EP, Victimized, and 2015 debut full-length, Life // Lost. The crowd swirled to tracks like “Stillborn,” “Life // Lost,” and “Sleep Paralysis” as Currents combined powerful vocals, tight rhythms, and destructive breakdowns that kept all present focused intently on the stage.
Known for their strong work ethic, Currents showed extreme continuity between members. Their musical style was one of technical prowess and exacting precision. The crowd show their appreciation for the polished performance given by Currents and thrashed about crashing into one another during “Hanging by a Thread,” “Withered,” and “Anneliese.” Overall, Currents put on a technical show filled with focused violence and controlled chaos that set the stage perfectly for the Within the Ruins up next. The band will now partake in some of their own headlining gigs come March, including a stop at famous SXSW Festival in Austin, TX on the 19th.
Fully rattled by the acts that preceded, Within the Ruins hit the crowd with a heavy dose of hard-edged Metal. Vocalist Tim Goergen, Guitarist Joe Cocchi, Bassist Paolo Galang, and Drummer Kevin McGuill commanded the huge gathering with their music, making all in attendance move. At times, the movement of the crowd was violent, while at other times transfixed on the stage as Georgen stood over them growling as they played songs like “Gods Amongst Men.” Imposing and in control, he paced the stage, ordering the crowd to let loose and feed the band energy as they played other tracks like “New Holy War” and “Invade.”
As for the rest of the band, Cocchi and Galang were intensely tied together musically throughout the set as they presented fast, aggressive riffs in perfect sync. McGuill blasted early and often in perfect time, anchoring the entire unit while they furiously delivered songs such as “Feeding Frenzy.” The crowd roared their approval as brutal tune, after brutal tune crashed over them. Then there was “Calling Card,” which turned the area in front of the stage into a vortex of humanity as Georgen encouraged them using hand signals.
Keeping the show high-intensity for its duration, Georgen took a moment to thank all of the bands for playing the show and everyone for coming out on this nasty Winter’s night. This proved to be but a short respite from the aggression of the evening as “Controller” created a cyclone of a circle pit directly below Georgen, who looked down with pride at his creation. Matters became a bit out of hand in the pit as a fight broke out. After quickly being handled by the staff, Georgen, who seemed to be angered by the incident, said, “I’m tired of coming out to play and people fight. It kills the scene. If you’re gonna fight, leave the show now, I don’t give a fuck.” He went on to say, “All my Metalheads come up front and don’t be afraid of these assholes !” He then snarled, “We are elite !” to begin “Elite,” the title track from the album by the same name. Things immediately returned to normal chaos as Within the Ruins closed the show in powerful fashion.
Seemingly going by in the blink of an eye, Within the Ruins came to New York and represented the Massachusetts Metal scene well with a blistering set of fast, heavy, aggressive technical Metal. With Currents by their side, they brought it all to a full house of ready fans who churned the pit hard for them. As for the local acts, they also represented the New York scene in tremendous fashion. Within the Ruins now take a much deserved rest from touring, but chances are, these Metal warriors will be back on the road sooner than later.
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