CoC : Beneath the Ashes - Nailed to Your Ruins : Review

Beneath the Ashes - _Nailed to Your Ruins_
(State of Grace, 2003)
by: Xander Hoose (8.5 out of 10)

From Sacramento, California comes five-piece Beneath the Ashes. Being one of the bands on the State of Grace roster, it won't surprise anyone that stylistically BtA is a hardcore band pur sang. Which is not strange, if you consider that band members from BtA have their roots in many other hardcore bands, such as Embrace the End, Drowned in Silence and Bury My Heart. On _Nailed to Your Ruins_ they display a very refined form of tech hardcore that shows the experience they've built over the last years. With a fitting razor-sharp production, the guitar riffs come out crystal clear on top of the pounding drums. The bass provides a darker edge to the music, and the vocals -- even though not outstanding compared to the direct competition -- is enjoyable and, even more important, a good complement to the music. Some of the tracks on this album have been released before ("Eastern Kansas Love Song" and "Open Eyes", for example) but they have been re-recorded in order to sound like the rest of the material. _Nailed to Your Ruins_ is an album that has been perfected enough to make it stand out from the rest of the hardcore albums being dropped on the scene lately. A supporting tour accompanies the release of this album, so keep your eyes on their website for dates.

Contact: http://www.beneaththeashes.com

(article published 24/7/2003)