"Bastard Icon" is said re-recording, and is rendered with a tighter performance and stronger production that retains the Bay Area thrash melody, imbued with a groovier and punchier tone.

"Burning the Olive Branch" is a new number that retains the melodic approach of the opener, but is otherwise a drastically different beast, losing the comforting predictability of the thrash patterns in favour of a darker song, drawing from the font of death metal.

As mentioned earlier, it is hard to accurately gauge where Ground of Ruin are at this point, and the differing nature of the two songs presented means that I couldn't even begin to hazard a guess as to their future direction. However, it does seem that they have improved noticeably, irrespective of whether they prefer thrash or death metal. Should Ground of Ruin wish to acquire that elusive record deal, a further, longer recording will probably be necessary.