Relentless / Ruin

Neat idea here, a split EP (double pleasure for short attention span folks!) of the two Swedish bands that came together to form Coldworker (Nasum, of course, being the other band that helped in the formation of said Swede death metal juggernaut). Ruin’s six songs are refreshingly short and skirt the borders of melodic death, guttural grind and German thrash. It’s pretty cool see-you-at-the-finish-line stuff, especially the energetic "Insomnia,” and bonus points are awarded for one of the dudes wearing a Propagandhi shirt in the band photo. Relentless lay down four tracks of more death metal-oriented fare, with some melodic riffs amongst the general brutality, a brutality that borders on the generic but with so few songs it barely has time to get boring — a full-length would be another story. For those taking notes, two Ruiners and one Relentless dude are in Coldworker, and, apparently, both of these bands remain active as well.