THE BEAST

Age of Ruin - Thieves - Reviewed By rockportaal ! Check it out here at this link: https://www.rockportaal.nl/age-of-ruin-thieves/

The band Age Of Ruin has been around for a while because in 1998 singer Derrick Korzerka, guitarists Daniel Fleming, bassist Chris Fleming and drummer Patrick Owens decided to record the demo The Opium Dead and then release the debut album Black Sands Of The Hourglass in 2000.

It's been a bit of an 'Age Of Ruin' at Age Of Ruin ever since . Band members come and go and after some EP's and album released it's been quiet around the band for a decade. In 2019, Daniel and Christopher Fleming and drummer Patrick decide to start working on a new EP again. Brian Gant and Jonathan Clay complete the line-up to work on the EP Thieves, which will be released in February 2023.

The EP has seven new compositions, although the instrumental opener Distance is the run-up to Dying Days. A composition in which Age Of Ruin creates a style that could belong to Arch Enemy and can function extremely well in terms of vocals in a support act for Amon Amarth. It is pleasant metal that is easy to follow and where subtle changes in the sound are nicely built up and the choruses are recognizable. By slowing down a bit at the end, the composition gives a nice new impetus. At Betrayed By Man it is a suit from the same sheet. The attractive metal has small tempo accelerations in it. I must say that the vocals are a bit too monotonous for me, which makes it easy to lose attention.

Musically there is enough variation. For example, the groove in Garden Of Ghosts is nice and the sound is especially convincing towards the end. The other variation can be found in Thieves In Treason. Calm, captivating and with the female vocals of Caitlin Schneiderman, the composition slowly builds up. It seems that Age Of Ruin develops as the EP progresses. In Withered Rose the vocals are more varied and the melody demands sufficient attention. There is enough room for a fine guitar solo that is followed by a fat groove.

The EP closes with Echoes In Stained Glass. Heavy and with a vocal part that sounds nice and retro, I can conclude that Thieves is quite a nice EP, although it took me a few listens to feel that way. rockportaal

Release Date: February 14, 2023

FFO: Darkest Hour, In Flames, At The Gates

Location: Fairfax, Virginia

    Short Bio: Age of Ruin is an American metalcore band from the Washington DC suburb of Fairfax, Virginia. The group formed in 1998, releasing a demo in 1999 titled "The Opium Dead." Their first album, "Black Sands Of The Hourglass" was self-released in 2000 and re-released in 2004 with two bonus tracks on Tribunal Records. In 2002 the group released an EP entitled "Autumn Lanterns" for Tribunal Records.       

    Age of Ruin released "The Tides of Tragedy" via Eulogy Records in the spring of 2004, touring across the United States on Van's Warped Tour 2004. Subsequent tours with bands such as Shadows Fall, Darkest Hour, The Bled, Sworn Enemy, Good Clean Fun and Anterrabae continued to cause an already strong following to grow. In Winter 2006, Age of Ruin kicked off the year with their first European tour, a 25-day tour crossing 12 countries. Sharing the stage with other mainstream acts such as The Black Dahlia Murder, Bleeding Through, and Most Precious Blood.

    In 2008, the original lineup of Age of Ruin minus Patrick Owens (who was replaced by Aaron Sirott on drums) recorded and released "One Thousand Needles" on Eulogy Records.

    In 2019, the original lineup of Age of Ruin got back together and began working on "Thieves." In 2020-2021, the band brought in Brian Gant (vocals) and Jonathan Clay (guitars), both from the band Absolute Vengeance to record the EP at the Riff Dojo Studio with Mike Schleibaum of Darkest Hour and Be Well.

Follow the band on Spotify and add them to your playlists!

Age of Ruin is:
Brian Gant - Vocals
Daniel Fleming - Guitars
Jonathan Clay - Guitars
Christopher Fleming - Bass
Hendrik Osinga - Drums

Thieves was recorded 2020-2021 at the Riff Dojo
Produced by Mike Schleibaum
Drums on tracks 2-7 performed by Patrick Owens
Additional vocals on track 5 performed by Caitlin Schneiderman
All songs written by Age of Ruin

Follow the band at these links:

https://www.instagram.com/thisistheageofruin/ 
https://www.facebook.com/thisistheageofruin/ 
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5OlOc49L0IERvwqbuRost8
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPbz1Uy1jrz9LmyjnF05k-g  
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/age-of-ruin/6186899 
https://ageofruin.bandcamp.com/