Age of Ruin have clearly developed a keen sense of Gothenburg dual harmonies that they use to full effect on almost every song without fear, but they also have an extended use of instrumentals to enforce the emotional side of their music. With bookend acoustic track s “Dawn” and the close out of “Portrait of Solemn Seas” as well as the mesmerizing tribal interlude of “Serengeti”, Age Of Ruin seem ready to wear their heart of their sleeve musically without stepping to far into emo territory. Swan delivers the expected ‘loss, tragedy and sky is falling in the fall’ type lyrics with usual eyes to the sky gusto, but his occasional clean voice isn’t really his forte, but guitarists Daniel Fleming and Brian Kerley are pretty much the centerpieces of Age of Ruin’s sound anyway. Most of the riffs and solos are spiraling harmonies that climax with appropriate flourishes (much like Misery Signals), that beg for air guitar play.

The predictable breakdowns are not Age of Ruin’s strongpoint as they will never really crush like Remembering Never or Dead to Fall and they are hindered by a slightly flat production, especially on the bass and drums. However, the 2 guitars are clear and slice with impressive hooks that are as good as anything by Shai Hulud or Poison the Well’s early work. The naturally tragic song titles like “No Kiss Cuts as Deep”, “Bluest Eyes in Blackest Hearts”, “Glowing Embers”, are culled from the ‘Tribunal/Eulogy song title making machine of heartache’, but once you are past the teen angst lyrics, the music alone is rather impressive. The early blast beat of “No Kiss Cuts as Deep” is sapped by the production, but is more than redeemed by the fantastic multi layered vocals and solos of the songs epic climax.

As a whole, each song is very entertaining, chock full of familiar but finely played dual melodies that many fans may have tired of, but continue to amuse me. Only the clean chorus of “Diaries of the Dead” brought a slight grimace to my face, but as with the whole album, the twin guitars and its brief acoustic interlude more than make up for it, and again it closes with a brilliant culmination of rending soloing. If Anything Age of Ruin most certainly can close out a song with major skill, as “Yours to Bury” and the string violin enhanced “Portrait of Solemn Seas” are deeply entrancing. I’d actually be so bold as to say you’d be hard pressed to find soloing this evocative this side of The Opposites of December, The Rain in Endless Fall or even , Skydancer .

That’s not to say this album is close to being mentioned in the same breath, but at times the guitar work is breathtaking if you can see your way past the bands expected metalcore trappings. Age of Ruin are certainly ready to step from the swarming mass of mediocre to decent acts in the genre, and with a top notch production could nudge there way into the genres upper echelon, but is there really room for them?

Defying every expectation set upon the hardcore genre, The Stings of Conscience draws upon the bottomless pool of European metal talent (plus the occasional overt American influence) and melds it with traditional hardcore. The result brings about the most blissfully indulgent, entrancing, and overall greatest hardcore release ever put to this reviewer’s ears. After a pleasant, but normal opening track, the unleashing of terror and technical dismay arrives on, “One Step Away,” when the lead guitar suddenly bursts into a sparkling array of repetitive siren-like guitar harmonics, almost George Lynch-ian in nature minus 110 percent of Dokken (if that makes any sense). From this point on, I was enthralled – my attention was completely taken for the entire duration of this blistering album – something strangely unfamiliar in these times of insurmountable promo piles.

“Only the People” throws out the first blatant influence when strikingly right in the middle of the song, the guitars break into the all too familiar upbeat In Flames gallop. Now let’s journey through the centerpiece title track, which reads as a musical bible for who’s who in 90s extreme metal. Rapid-fire Children of Bodom guitars begin the event, quickly shifting from In Flames riffery to the progressive head shifting artistry of Cynic and Atheist. Soon the guitars flourish into a thick Gothenburg-esque movement which could have easily been culled from Eucharist’s Mirrorworlds, before shifting back into progressive hardcore territory. Sound of Perseverance-era Death rises forth, as syncopated drums guide the music into a flourishing Mike Amott-Carcass meets In Flames finish. Whew! You get the picture, but to paint it clearer, here are several other influences you are bound to stumble across on The Stings of Conscience: Naglfar, Dark Tranquility, Meshuggah, At the Gates, Soilwork, Only Living Witness, Katatonia, Opeth and countless more. Even if it is for a brief moment, they exist regardless of whether or not this unknown American hardcore band from Massachusetts intended it to be so.

Vocalist Trevor Phipps has a traditional hardcore rasp, interspersing them with clean segments that recall Poison the Well’s finer moments. At the same time, the tight busy drumming of Mike Rudberg, along with bassist Chris Rybicki are the rhythmic glue that make the twin guitar dynamics of Buz McGrath and Ken Susi sound so goddamn profound. Eulogy strikes again! What are you waiting for? Go buy this, now!