Hailing from Münster, Germany, ORDER TO RUIN released their second album this year in September. In fact, this band is very consistent with releases, having released an album every year since 2014. Or, in this case, two albums.

This consistency is good, but only if you're a fan of the band. Otherwise, I think it can really take away from the quality of the music. Unless you're a never-ending spout of originality and creativity, you should take a little more time to write an album. In this case, ORDER TO RUIN have creativity, but originality is definitely not included in the package. Predictability plagues this album from start to finish and the first few tracks are practically a blur of typical Melodic Death Metal riffs.

This isn't to say that the entire album isn't enjoyable. If you like Melodic Death Metal and are looking for new bands that sound like the old stuff like IN FLAMES, then this is for you. If you're like me and you enjoy a flare of originality and a band that doesn't just make its lead guitarist shine, but makes their whole band look great, then this is not for you.

What I mean by only letting their lead guitarist shine is pretty obvious. If you listen to the drums, this is no CRYPTOPSY. It's bland, basic drumming with mid-paced blast beats that are extremely boring to listen to. I'm not a drummer, but I have an extremely high respect for drummers and believe that they can make a very large difference in the sound of a riff. When a band has drummers that play like their being hypnotized, it doesn't sit well with me. Also, the rhythm guitar is playing, again, those basic Melodic Death Metal riffs. However, I take back what I said about the lead guitarist shining because, in my opinion, the leads are extremely predictable and bland, not icing the cake at all. Next, the vocalist isn't anything special at all. He sounds dry, and it doesn't help that they lyrical structure is extremely basic as well.

But, again, this album isn't terrible. In fact, I enjoyed songs like "Heathen Machine" and "One Day." "One Day" was definitely my highlight because of the grooves and blackened atmosphere. The riffs were cool, and the lead guitarist didn't sound that generic.

I think this band has potential, but if they keep releasing albums within months of each other, then they will not be putting in enough time to give their music their own sound. Literally no one in this band is special. Maybe the bassist is, but the production won't let me hear it over the guitars, so I can't really tell. I don't need for everyone in the band to be perfect. I just need someone to at least add character to what they do. If they put more time into their music, I think they could do something cool.