One more fresh and talented band from Victory Records pays a visit to the Metal Temple headquarters and guess who'll be the one to review its new album! Me of course! After several new releases from the US label that just won't leave my CD player, WITHIN THE RUINS comes to claim its own space in my extreme listening sessions.

Hailing from Massachusetts, USA, WITHIN THE RUINS debuted with their 2006 EP "Driven By Fear". After one more EP in 2008 through the same label (Innerstrength Records), Victory "kidnapped" them and added them to its roster for the release of their first ever full-length album "Creature" (2009). The album was well received by the press and the band gained many fans. Can they keep up with their sophomore release or was it just a firework?

"Invade" starts with a kind of spooky intro, something like a horror movie soundtrack, with "Versus" taking its place with magnificent guitar leads and bestial drumming to show that this quintet is not kidding at all! The band is full of skilled musicians, who prove it in every single riff (these guys must love NECROPHAGIST). WITHIN THE RUINS gather every successful aspect of extreme music and create a sound that knocks you out with technical breaks, melodic neoclassical leads, catchy beatdown parts and almost "thrashy" outbreaks. Tim Goergen's vocals are also a damn fine piece of this puzzle, completing the overall image with macho growls and hellish screams. No need to comment on the album's production (engineered, mixed and mastered by Joshua Wickman), which offers a crystal clear and solid sound that lets the tracks unveil every little detail.

If you are a fan of bands like NECROPHAGIST, CARNIFEX, PARKWAY DRIVE etc, then you have found one more band that will be added to your "favourites" list. Let's see what the future has in store for these five men...