Elapse by For Ruin (Death Metal, 2020)

The first new ‘Froon Tunes’ in seven years and a welcome return for one of Cork’s finest. Harking back to the bands humble origins, this new EP sees founder John Murphy strip things back to being a single member entity, albeit with a little help from a couple of old friends on the closing track.

With past FOR RUIN releases the songs were always strong, only to be somewhat let down by the production and mixing, but this time around Murphy has honed his recording skills. He also outsourced the mastering duties to THE CROWN’s Marko Tervonen at Studio-MT for the finished product. A wise decision as the difference is quite notable and really benefits the music.

The title track ‘Elapse’ kicks off in high gear with fast paced riffs, drums and a roar from Murphy, a shortsharpshock to proclaim to the World that FOR RUIN is back. First single ‘Fuel To the Fire’ starts off in familiar fashion but mixes things up at times with Murphy incorporating clean vocals into the mix. Overall, the style will be very familiar to those already accustomed to FOR RUIN’s brand of melodic death metal, with Murphy’s signature lead hooks dominating the instrumental passages. These hooks are particularly apparent on the ‘The Worm Turned’ which is a real throwback to the FOR RUIN of old. Closing track ‘Measure Of A Man’ adds a touch of doom, with mostly clean vocals throughout and the harsh vocals kept in the background for added effect.

“Elapse” EP is released digitally on the September 17th with the single’ Fuel To the Fire’ preceeding it on August 27th, 2020.