P R E S S
B O T
Here are some early reviews of the new RUINS collection, "1986-1992"
from hither & yon on the internet.
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Allan at Aquarius Records favorites
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RUINS
1986-1992
(Skin Graft)
Aquarius customers probably know this band already, the famed hardcore progrock
bass/drum duo from Tokyo led by drummer extraordinare Tatsuya Yoshida. They're
big favorites of several AQ-staffers, being one of Allan and Jeff's favorite bands
ever! Super tight, technical playing, bass-heavy riffing, weird, nonsense vocals,
impossibly complex *and* catchy songwriting... They are inspired by '70s prog
bands, Magma especially, but take things to a much more intense, energetic, insane
level than any band back then. This new Skin Graft cd collects (as its title suggests)
tracks from the first six years of the Ruins career, which, as great as the Ruins
still are today, may have been their best era. There's the happy, hectic (Hella-like,
to reference another two-piece we've recently raved about) really early stuff
from when Hideki Kawamoto was the Ruins' bassist, and then more massive, majestic
material from later on with bassist Kazuyoshi Kimoto and then Ryuichi Masuda (yep,
Yoshida is currently playing with bassist number four). About half of these tracks
are from long-out-of-print Japanese releases, while (the second) half of the disc
pulls from the Ruins' two Shimmy Disc albums, which are also more-or-less out
of print as well (the reason we say 'more-or-less' is kinda complicated, ask Allan
if you care). And the tracks selected (by Yoshida, who also remixed and remastered
'em) do make for a good "best of" -- we'd have picked many of the same tracks
ourselves. (Though Yoshida should have included "Power Shift" from "Burning Stone"!
oh well).
Ok, this part of the review is for fellow Ruins fanatics: basically, you don't
need this ONLY if you already have the "Burning Stone", "Stonehenge" (the original
Shimmy version with the bonus tracks that is), "Ruins III" (aka "Infect"), and
"Ruins II & 19 Numbers" cds. Otherwise you definitely need this!! Not to mention,
these tracks are remastered, and you probably don't have the track "Cambodia"
from the "NG II" comp... And if you've got the rare "Early Works" Ruins cd, don't
worry, none of those recordings are on here.
Everybody else -- this is a great collection that we'd highly recommend as a starting
place for your Ruins experience, although you'll eventually want to hunt down
their out of print cds too, to hear the entire albums. Essentially, essential.
http://www.aquariusrecords.org/cat/allan.html
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Pitchfork Reviews
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Ruins
1986-1992
[Skin Graft; 2002]
There's something to be said about consistency. There's also something to be said
about jackhammer migraines. With Ruins, one is the cause and the other a potential
effect for many listeners. Pitchfork has featured a couple of other Ruins CDs
by this point, so I probably don't need to tell you much about their sound. What
I will say is that, since their inception in 1985, they've set industry standards
for integrity of vision, and a lot of the credit can be given to drummer/leader
Tatsuya Yoshida's decision to create a new band for every new idea or variation
he has. Ruins was his proggy noisecore project, and though detractors may argue
that so are the rest of his bands (including Koenji-Hyakkei and Akaten), it is
the most purely so.
Because of this, anyone who isn't totally down with the original concept is in
for rough times with Ruins' discography. Aside from the one-off Symphonica, all
Ruins records are bass-and-drums affairs, with manic yodel-screeching for vocals
and the kind of needle-in-the-red instrumental acrobatics that give a shitload
of indie cred to prog, while at the same time turning off most actual prog old-schoolers.
I can't begin to imagine what sort of torture it would be to sit through something
like Stonehenge if I wasn't completely on board with this band. That's where the
jackhammer migraines come in, because if smooth sailing is your thing, steer clear.
For fans, a release like 1986-1992 is fine indeed. Skin Graft's compilation packages
ridiculously rare early stuff like the original 1986 seven-inch of the band's
first four-track recordings, their 1987 twelve-inch album, and selected tracks
from their third record. Incidentally, all of these releases were simply entitled
Ruins, so thank Skin Graft for clearing up a potential Google mess. Also included
are tracks from two easier to find LP's, 1990's Stonehenge and 1992's Burning
Stone. Yoshida remixed all the tracks last year, and I can tell you that, being
familiar with the original albums, I was pretty shocked by the remixes. Very noisy!
Mark Richard-San remarked in his review of Burning Stone that it was the 'slick'
Ruins album. Not here, as its tracks seem to have been given that extra ear-bleeding
treatment. Give Yoshida credit for creating the impression that all of this stuff
was recorded at the same time in the same studio, with the same production.
The opener wastes no time in burning down all bridges to sanity: "Outburn" is
at once the greatest-ever hardcore punk song not to protest anything or even feature
real words in the lyrics, and a public service announcement for ADD awareness.
The main riff is as stubbornly assured as anything Bad Brains put to wax, and
the lest you get bored during its eight seconds, another wild-ass riff is there
to take its place, and again and again. It seems like this kind of thing should
have made the whole math-rock thing obsolete before it ever happened, but whatever.
"Epigonen" is slower, but just as pummeling. The riffs don't fly by this time,
and the mid-section is almost like a stoned mosh. Ruins first bassist Kawamoto
Hideki even takes the distortion off for a few seconds, only to nail it back to
your forehead again at the end of the tune. "Body & Soul" is still more slow-death,
featuring a recognizably metallic head, like something you'd hear from a particularly
badly recorded Sabbath boot. Perhaps the most interesting track for diehard fans
will be "Cambodia," previously only available on a compilation called NG II. If
not for all the distortion, this could pass for straight-ahead King Crimson-esque
prog (especially the anthemic B-section), and the opening riff is pure cock-rock
edge.
"Hallelujah," from Ruins' 1988 LP, is also quite proggy compared to the rest of
this stuff, especially as Yoshida makes the extra effort to sing in recognizable
tones, and with recognizable harmonies. They turned the distortion off, and there's
even a violin in there. Whoa... Kansas? Not quite. Tunes like "Infect" (possibly
the most menacing thing they ever recorded) and "B.U.G." reinforce the notion
that sheer force and oppressive repetition can do considerable damage. Quaint
old bands like Magma used to work in similar realms, but Ruins just pounce all
over any legacy those bands might have had. They're just that devastating. The
Burning Stone tracks are more complex, as Ruins has seemingly gotten further and
further away from tried-and-true musical vices like simple jackhammer migraine
riffs, but the tunes don't fail to lurch and destroy. "Zasca Coska," filled with
echo vocals and riffs so unplayable that it just isn't that funny, even manages
to fill a few life-sucking minutes of the song with free improv. I think I need
to turn this down for second.
Despite the ear-abuse, my only real caveat with the album is that fans will probably
already own about half of it. Of course, the really early material makes it worthwhile
for people like me. For newcomers, I'd suggest hunting down Burning Stone or Stonehenge
for early Ruins, and work from there. Yoshida doesn't look like he's ever going
to stop, so you have plenty of time to work your way through to this comp.
-Dominique Leone, June 7th, 2002
http://pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/r/ruins/1986-1992.shtml
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Baltimore City Paper
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Ruins
1986-1992
Review By Lee Gardner
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The problem with most rock music is that it is created by people who are not necessarily
all that brilliant and yet have been convinced that their music must feature "content."
Thus we end up with all the metal bands gargling about putrefying-corpse love,
the prog acts who absolutely must share their tales of topographic oceans, and
the punk groups who must preach about their, you know, whatever, all despite the
fact 95 percent of any of the above embarrasses anyone with the slightest swelling
at the top of their brain stem.
Ruins drummer/vocalist Tatsuya Yoshida is one of the rare few smart enough to
recognize that if you don't have anything smart, pertinent, or affecting to say,
you should probably just gibber and squeal in a made-up, nonsensical language
while you get your quick-change metal/prog/punk freak on. Yoshida and his rotating
cast of bassists (most recently Hisashi Sasaki) have been at it for more than
15 years, a fact Skin Graft Records celebrates with the release of 1986-1992,
which compiles rare tracks from the band's debut single, EP, and album, plus remixed
cuts from their Stateside bows Stonehenge and Burning Stone.
If you've heard Ruins before, this is more of the same, although more raw and
less prog-y than of late, and quite desirable. If you haven't, they sound like
Zappa without the anal sound and doo-doo jokes, like the Melvins without the opiated
tempos and middle-finger humor, like Lightning Bolt without the . . . well, Ruins
sound a lot like Lightning Bolt's stoner older brothers, actually, and this is
an excellent place to start. Remember: stupid, no; stoopid, yes
http://citypaper.com/2002-05-08/trax2.html