SOILID is a Groove/Neo-Thrash metal band from Germany that was founded in 2007 by Dominic and Christoph, and have to date released only one other album back in 2012. In the right circles however, the new SOILID album has been heavily anticipated ever since. "Into The Ruins" has ferocious energy and impeccable timing, grabbing you by the throat and never letting go.

The album starts off at 11 with a high energy gut-punch entitled "Alone". This LP keeps up a rapid-fire pace all across the board, and the intro really sets that up; letting you know what you are in for. "Smash the Crowd" then brings in the Groove with a fierce but smooth sound, taking underlining the gritty vocals some other vocalisations to add some depth. And "Armaggedon" and "Live Fast, Die Young" are two intense, hardcore tracks that would be perfect for setting up a brutal mosh pit.

"Eternal War" has some distortion that really works to its credit, producing a song of otherworldly quality. "Welcome Home" is one of my favourite tracks; it has a lot of intensity due to a powerful back and forth between the two sets of vocals - one man sings and a group of voices answers, giving the song a greater sense of conflict. "Condemned to Bleed" has a really sweet bridge that I just loved rocking out to.

"Interlude" is just that; a placeholder full of sounds of war and helicopter blades. Frankly I didn't appreciate its inclusion, and not just because of the content of the track. It would have served just as fine as the opening to the following song "You Stay", rather than be a separate track. It simply feels like padding on the track numbers when bands do this.

The final track is the namesake "Into The Ruins" and it takes everything from the previous songs and cranks the dial up one more notch. After my minor annoyance over "Interlude" this definitely got me hooked right back into the album. It really isn't a big enough problem to affect how I feel about the record as a whole, because it really is too strong to argue against. "Into The Ruins" is a great track with catchy energy and lines like "no regrets, never forget", which set a strong tone that is hard to fight. Definitely go out and find this album.