Ruin's Everything - Event Horizon EP

Ruin's Everything

Event Horizon EP
self-released; 2015
​
3.7 out of 5

By Mike Przygoda 

Event Horizon EP is an ambitious collection by Ruin’s Everything. Unafraid to combine dramatic shifts of attack and complete vulnerability, the band succeeds in their boldness.

“My Damning” opens with Beatles-y acoustic guitar strums setting up a contrast before screaming vocals, drums and electric guitars enter. There’s a Midlake influence in the melody and in the electric guitar work, moving between minor and major with long held out notes. The song has a good build, but unfortunately through mixing and mastering, perhaps, when the full band plays they sound much softer than the opening acoustic guitar, losing some of the momentum and edge of the song. Some of the edge comes back in the final chorus with screamed vocals over sloshing cymbals, but until then it feels like listening through a keyhole.

“Decomposure” is built around electric guitar arpeggios and a soft melody that builds with additional voices. The song tips its toes in the water between White Album era Beatles and Jimmy Eat World making for a nice ballad. The swimmy piano layer adds to the trippiness of layered vocals that enter and function as a canon between themselves. Some of the screamed voices feel abrupt and while they might distract from the song, they do add a level of contrast, which makes moving into the more melodic parts even more satisfying.

“A Miracle Occurs” employs a great drum pattern to really propel the song, moving between march-y snare hits and telegraphic cymbal hits. The guitar line is very melodic, playing against the vocal melody and driving piano chords. Here the screaming vocal that enters towards the middle works for a good climax building up before the band goes into a long series of unison hits. The song could be a little shorter, the end dragging on a bit, but overall it’s very catchy and driving.

“Eventually” starts out as a folk song with mocking backing vocals entering from time to time before the timing of the guitar gets trippy and sprinkles out. After a section with the full band, the song evolves into a second movement adding piano and e-bowed guitar. It works well as a build before the song moves to a third movement playing into elements of the first section with a rapid melody playing up the 6/8 time signature. It’s an ambitious song and works well summing all of the parts together into a symphony of emotion.

The EP closes with “Understanding There Are Things That Matter To Me,” contrasting screaming over acoustic guitar. The pain of vocal is palpable and personal, almost like reading someone’s diary. When the full band enters, the vocal turns to a rapid tirade of spoken words.  It’s a bold choice and if it feels a bit awkward, perhaps it is on purpose. There’s a nice piano interlude afterwards over guitar strums, snare rolls, and distant string patches.

Overall, Ruin’s Everything leaves it all on the floor.   There are beautiful pieces and ugly pieces and they make up a mosaic that is unapologetic, direct and interesting.

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