Customer Reviews

Dwelling in the Out

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This band is NOT trying to be a Dream Theater clone. In fact, they sound NOTHING like Dream Theater. Nor do they claim any elite progressive credentials. What Digital Ruin does is play great power/prog metal with terrific feel. There are good, churning guitars here, an interesting keyboard approach that utilizes poppy, little electronic sounds to add a frenetic element to each song, and rhythm section that is slow, heavy and grooving. But what really makes this group is the vocalist. This guy is just a great SINGER. He reminds me very much of Joe Elliott from Def Leppard. He has that raspy voice and great feel like Joe used to have in the PYROMANIA era. He drags you into these songs one by one, making you feel almost drugged by the music. Nothing here seems outstanding on its face, but put it all together and you have an impressive album. The biggest soft spot of this disc is the production. The sound the engineers produced does not do justice to this band's talents.

If you like metal with great feel and great grooves, get DWELLING IN THE OUT. There's no pretensions here, just solid music.

Digital Ruin are a real dark entity within the realms of heavy metal music, playing a slow and depressing form of progressive metal that one might not expect from this genre. Very little is known about this Rhode Island quartet who formed in 1998, comprising of Matthew Pacheco (vocals), Dave Souza (guitar), Michael Keegan (bass) and Timothy Hart (drums). Sadly, the band disbanded after only two albums which is a shame as they had endless talent - a rather pathetic indictment of the music industry as a whole. I purchased this album soon after it was released in 2000 and after eleven years, 'Dwelling in the Out' was years ahead compared to what other bands' were doing at the time.

Signing to German label, Inside Out, they did not wear their influences on their sleeves. Even by today's standards, this band is still very heavy for the Inside Out roster, other than perhaps recent signings Redemption. So what is Digital Ruin all about? As mentioned, they play a strange hybrid of progressive metal with a very dark undertone running through the music. The guitar work is really what underpins the sound as the guitars have been down tuned making the overall tone much heavier and thickly laden in places. Primarily, this is not a bad thing as the remainder of the instrumentation fits in seamlessly well to the guitar tone. Furthermore, they do not aspire to the school of ultra fast guitar riffing, but rather prefer the relaxed riff approach, allowing the music to meander along at its own thunderous pace.

This might be an irritant to some listeners as they are waiting for the music to take off, but for me it is all about the experience of exploring all the other facets to their sound. Make no mistake, their riffs are contained mainly in the mid-tempo and occasionally when they do step on the gas, they do it with startling effect. To add light and darkness to the music they have used spoken voice overdubs, including singular sound effects scattered on a few of the tracks that add some character to the overall vibe. In addition, the tempo changes are innovative and are similar to Dream Theater in many aspects. If one listens closely enough, almost every song has some well-crafted keyboards patterns that incorporate atmosphere. I have always found the song writing of Digital Ruin to be something special and they know how to weave many different emotions and ambiances into the framework of the music.

Special mention must be made regarding the way the lyrics have be written and conveyed. Mainly written from a very dark perspective, dealing with issues like war, death, depression and daily issues that have relevance to all of us. Whoever wrote the lyrics must have been a visiting a very dark, spiritual place at the time, as I am left with the sense they have been written from an individual perspective. A classic example is the aptly titled track `The Forgotten' dealing with trench warfare and the fear of a lone soldier prior to his fate being sealed. The band has managed to convey a strong lyrical message about the abhorrence of war. Alongside the music/lyrics, the rhythm section has played a stellar role by adding to the intensity and setting an awesome groove, in particular the bass that is extremely audible within the mix. Vocalist, Matthew Pacheco has a very clear and powerful voice, concentrating in the midrange and when he goes vocally higher, he does have an uncanny resemblance to Dream Theater's, James LaBrie.

In my opinion, Dave Souza is an expressive guitar player who adds so much into his playing and is certainly the band's main lynchpin. The production is good; probably superb would be a better term to use with the thickly laden groove, which has been captured magnificently. In concluding, Digital Ruin is a breath of fresh air in this torpid and polluted world called progressive metal. Even by today's standards in 2011, this release sounds as energised and invigorating as the day it was released in 2000. If well-structured progressive metal with fringes of darkness is what floats your boat, then `Dwelling in the Out' is a mandatory purchase and would be money very well spent.

The three preceeding reviews all offer valid opinions on this album, and to be honest there's not a lot I can add, other than -ARE DIGITAL RUIN AND MAGNITUDE 9 THE SAME BAND?

There seems to be a lot of similarities with the vocals and guitar riffing and even the final mix. To be fair though, DR are a little heavier, and those 'irrelevant' keyboard noises I prefer to full on keyboard solos.

Is it an worth buying? - If you want 50 mins worth of staccato riffing at one tempo, YES. If you want ground-breaking music NO. Personally, I rather like it!!

This CD is awesome...I don't know what those other reviewers were smoking. I love this CD, I cherish it. I have been unable to find a copy until very recently(my friend found it at a garage sale). When I saw it here, I jumped for joy and bought it.

Never judge a CD by the cover. Just because the artwork is appealing and the songs hover between the 5-7 minute mark, doesn't mean this is going to be a great listen. I found this album on the whole to be quite meaningless. I'm sure the guys in this band poured their hearts and souls into this, but it doesn't show in the results. If this band is supposed to be progressive metal, be progressive. Don't dwell on the watered-down Dream Theater sound. The songs are all very "safe" sounding, kind of like a progressive metal placebo. If this band is supposed to be progressive, it must be on an extremely superficial level. They certainly aren't breaking any new musical ground. The most surprising thing about this CD is that it wasn't released on the Magna Carta Label. It would fit in with their roster of fourth rate Dream Theater clones. This CD will be dwelling in my dustbin.