Review by Rob Broom for MPM
Powerful, pumping metal with a twist from the UK based 5 piece.
Let’s be honest ‘Lords Of Ruin’ is a great name for a metal band, or for that matter a Viking raiding party. Both have the same effect – lots of noise and devastation!
However, with ‘Coda Revival’, Lords of Ruin also offer some melody and tunes. This is a release you do not want to ignore.
Kicking off with ‘Decay’, the sound is big, thumping and solid. The riffs and guitar parts (from Lord Stones and Lord Kev) are razor sharp and balance nicely against the slow pace of the song which picks up as the song progresses.
Second cut ‘Bulldozer’ jumps out of the starting gates with pumping bass (from Lord Liam) and hammering drums (from Lord Steve-O) and flits from glorious classic metal through to snatches of ‘nu-metal’. Vocalist Lord Dox delivers some great lines as the song canters along, including the wonderfully harmonised ‘there’s an angel on your shoulder’.
There’s a tasty guitar solo thrown in for good measure as well. Fantastic stuff, probably my favourite of the four songs on the EP.
Third track ‘Universal’ starts by reminding me of Red Hot Chilli Peppers meeting that 90s nu-metal sound, but thats really not doing the song any justice at all, because it is really listenable, enjoyable, and sounds very ‘modern’ to my ears.
Final track ‘Broken Dreams’ opens fire with some gritty sounding riffs and growling vocals intermixed with some melody. The song struts along and commands your attention. It is a gutsy finish with powerful musicianship.
This really is an excellent and impressive EP. If the band can deliver live as they do in the studio then they really will be a force to be reckoned with. Lords Of Ruin are loaded with talent and potential so my recommendation is for you to check them out and you can start by buying ‘Coda Revival’.
