PALLASCHTOM

Ruins cannot be compared to anyone else, only Ruins themselves. Incredibly complex and chaotic, they bring a new meaning to avant-garde, but unlike their earlier albums there is some genuine refinement to their abrupt shifting and isn't just noise for the sake of noise. A challenging listen to sit through for an hour, easy listening it is not, but do so and you'll be rewarded not just with avant-prog, but some jazz and psychedelic passages too, as well as a fun set of medleys taken from classical, hard rock and prog, showing that the duo are indeed accomplished musicians. The atmospheric section in Czerudmuntzail wouldn't be out of place on a King Crimson album. All in all for me its better than all their prior albums bar Symphonica.