What Could Possibly Go Green

I initially missed out on the first Ruiner 7 inch as I didn't catch on to the band until their Prepare To Be Let Down album on Bridge Nine. I was just starting to find my footing again in hardcore around 2005, after being a bit disconnected for a few years, but that first Ruiner 7 inch still got by me. I did catch the LP in 2007 thanks to B9's high profile, and I really liked it, but over the years Ruiner tends to always be a band that I seem to overlook... and then when I do listen to them, I'm blown away and I wonder why I don't listen to them more often.

When I was stuck in a 2005 playlist last year, I queued up the What Could Possibly Go Right songs, and once again, I was floored. This thing boils over with emotion and anger. It just hits so fucking hard, and I listened to it repeatedly for a couple of months. I could not get enough. While I did have the I Heard These Dudes Are Assholes comp LP, it was time for me to get the real deal and track down that first 7 inch. At the time, all that I could find was second and third pressings, and I decided to hold out for a first pressing... even though I'm still tempted to chase all seven colored vinyl variations for this.

When I stumbled upon a copy in the Armageddon Shop store on Discogs recently, I jumped on it. For only $5, I'd have been a fool not to.

150 pressed on transparent green for the first press.

Hell Is Ruined

I'm always at a loss for words when trying to describe Ruiner's sound. I really can't compare them to anyone. I guess that the only way to describe them is that they are raw and real. Seriously, this is just dark and passionate stuff that still finds a way to be accessible. After a couple of EPs and a full length, Ruiner still manage to keep things fresh with the release of their second album, Hell Is Empty. I continue to be impressed.

The lyric sheet for this record is fucking huge!

Cool looking gatefold sleeve, with that slick Spot UV coating for the "eye in the sky" design. 1,000 pressed on blue/pink colored vinyl.

The Bridge Nine Let Down

A year ago I was all over anything that Bridge Nine Records released. Nowadays, not so much. I was keeping a list of all the different pressings that B9 had put out, and was on a mission to collect them all. In 2006 they put out amazing new records by Have Heart, Triple Threat, and Outbreak, they were the home of Champion, Mental, and the first Betrayed 7 inch...and then I just stopped caring. The messageboard turned into the biggest waste of internet space, full of retarded posts about "how often do you masturbate", and tough guy posing on anyone that dared step out of line...a place where the bigger dick you were to people, the cooler you were. The label released Palehorse and Death Before Dishonor, and pushed a tough-guy "hardcore" sound that I really wasn't that into. The honeymoon was over, and I no longer felt the need to buy every pressing of every release.

On a whim, I picked up the new Ruiner and Ceremony vinyl. I wasn't excited about it, but I guess a small part of me still felt like I needed to buy it because it was on Bridge Nine. Besides the fact that the Ruiner album has some of the sickest cover art I've seen in a long time, the music is actually pretty good as well. Very dark and angry, while still coming across as very real. The vocals are killer and every time I spin this album, I wonder why I don't listen to it more often. Even though I waited a while before placing my order, I still managed to get the red and orange split colored vinyl...limited to 300.

The Ceremony 7 inch is good too. It took me a while to get into this band. I had their first 7 inch for a while, but never really listened to it, and really caught on to them when I bought their album Violence Violence. The new record rips the same kind of fast and angry hardcore sound, maybe slowing things down a little on this release. They do a cover of Negative FX's Feel Like A Man which is very impressive...worth it for that song alone. The black vinyl was limited to 400 pressed.

So yeah, maybe Bridge Nine actually is releasing some good stuff these days. At some point I may even check out the new Crime in Stereo and Ambitions. Yeah, someday.