HYDEROMASTGRONINGEM

Ruins is not prog to any degree I'd consider, but this CD is great music wherever it may fall. This is one of the most uniquely commanding CDs I have. 2 guys - bass and drums, both do the vocals - have created such a bizzare soundscape it's hard to describe. First off, the language on the album is one that they created. A song or two use English to a degree, but the rest is a hypnotically rhythmic language that works more as additional instrumentation than it is just a vocal. Everything works together in such a way that one alone cannot be focused on any more than another. This is a wonderful melding of instruments to create one solid sound. Car-crash time signature stop/starts are the key in most of the songs. Imagine a rubber ball that can't stop bouncing that's randomly studded with nails, brads, spikes and tacks let loose in a room made of steel. Energy explodes from every note and chant and scream and squeal. There's a definite hardcore foundation but a higher sense of composition coming from something besides just aggression. I've heard Ruins other albums and I really haven't been impressed in the way I still am with 'Hyderomastgroningem.' I bought this on a whim and at first I was a little unreceptive to the concept, but after a few spins under the laser I really started enjoying the grooves and rhythms of it. It's a perfect long distance night-drive album. If you're adventurous and haven't become a music snob bent on telling the world that prog started and ended with YES you might just enjoy this.