VOICES OF RUIN is a melodic death metal band from Ontario, California.  They formed back in 2006 as OBLIVION but changed their name in 2008.  "Path To Immortality" is their third full length album; in 2011 they also released a split. "Path To Immortality," is definitely a modern Melodic Death album.  That, of course, isn't a bad thing but we aren't getting the Gothenburg style here.  Production wise, it is both loud and clear (perhaps a bit too much) but it does cut rather sharp in the intensity department.  Although they certainly play with melody, the songs are on the heavier side of the death metal fence. Barrett's vocals are particularly devastating and found myself really enjoying his performance.  He uses a low end growl, with some mid range screams and it is just the perfect balance for the band to play off of.

The song writing is simple but there isn't denying how solid the compositions are and how well the band uses melody to convey catchy songs that still contain enough depth for repeated listens.   Individually, nothing here really blows me away but the band works extremely well together; they know their style, what they want to do with it, and where to go with it. As much as I appreciate the often times slower paced MDM of bands like INSOMNIUM, and my everlasting love for all things Doom, sometimes I want a (slight) break from all that and need something mid paced or maybe with the foot on the gas a bit more than what I'm used to.  To their credit, VOICES OF RUIN fills this album with a lot of faster paced passages and songs that don't really beat around the bush for too long.

"Other Side," is the obligatory intro but I'll give credit where it is due and admit this one is more captivating than most.  I actually enjoyed this one so much that it is a shame they didn't feel the need to grow it into a full length song.  "Carved Out," is the first proper track and brings a mid paced energy to offset the more alien and somewhat ambient intro.  The verses consist of balanced riffs, hard hitting drums, and pulsing bass over energetic growls.  The duel melodies in between the verses and chorus are well done and help the parts of the song flow together. The title track, "Path To Immortality," is up next and opens with some decent melodies and low growls.  The band picks up the speed here, reminding me of faster moments from SOILWORK, although the band doesn't have their chops.  This isn't a bad song by any means but its sandwiched in between two tracks that I like much better. I just expect more from a title track.

"Suffering Silence," is that bottom half of the metal sandwich.  The melodies immediately grab me as do the drums that pick up the pace alongside them.  The riffs are doubled down in speed through out the song but the drums and vocals have no trouble keeping up with them, creating a battle to see which member of the band can display the most energy.  It works in the song's favor as it is one of my personal favorites from the album. "Into The Aether," is a slick instrumental but I can't help but feel it throws the pacing of the album off by not presenting itself until the album is over halfway done—I think this one would work much better at the halfway point in terms of track listing.  With that said, it is a nice little instrumental dirge.

The final original track, "The Undoing," ends the album much in the way it began.  It is mid paced, catchy, and checks off all the boxes for melodic death metal but the band's obvious love and conviction for the genre keeps it from being stagnate. The last track is a cover of the FOO FIGHTER's "Everlong."  As far as mainstream, no frills rock music goes, this song has long been a classic and radio staple.  Before I dived head first into the world of metal, I was a pretty big fan of the FOO FIGHTERS and the album "Everlong," is from.  Before listening, I was pretty confident this song would be a train wreck.  I am happy to report, while pulling my foot out of my mouth, that VOICES OF RUIN actually do the song justice.  The best covers are the ones that aren't a carbon copy of the original.  They certainly put their style on this one and I"m shocked that a song like this can be turned into a decent melodic death metal track. Dave Grohl himself is a huge metal head and I bet he would like this.

All in all, I enjoyed the 45 minutes it took to listen to this album. It didn't blow me away and won't win any award for originality but "Path Of Immortality," is a love letter to this wonderful genre and a strong case for it never having to worry about fading away.