Ruins

Japanese hardcore prog legends Ruins have spent years (they started in 1985) crafting a sound that, as history would have it, was way ahead of its time. Basically, you wouldn’t have speedy noise rock bands like Lightning Bolt or Hella (or Naked City, for that matter) if Ruins didn’t come along first to take the best elements of prog rock (unpredictable time changes, masterfully intricate playing and downright weird overtones), flip them on their heads and play them out furiously hard and fast. Pallaschtom, originally released in 2000, demonstrated next-level intensity for the two-piece drums and bass guitar band, hitting harder and further defining and refining their extreme musical ideals, which are extremely indebted to ’70s Belgian prog rock tank Magma. It’s quite amazing how full this stuff sounds with only two members in the group; there’s enough killer riffing and filling here to burn down a thousand barns. There’s not a dull moment here. Pallaschtom could be that perfect introduction into the world of Ruins you’ve been looking for, and the bonus "Classical Music,” "Hard Rock” and "Progressive Rock” medleys, where they run through enough recognisable riffs and melodies to keep your head spinning for weeks trying to identify them all, are as awesome as bonus tracks get.