BURNING STONE

This is the most heavily produced outing from the Masuda edition of Ruins, and this is what makes it possibly the most accessible and an excellent place to start for newcomers to this phenomenal band. The duo makes extensive use of effects (as well as some overdubbing, mostly for solos and extra vocal tracks), which give their sound a truly orchestral (as in some kind of international or perhaps interplanetary ensemble) feel. The percussion sounds range from straight ahead snare to all kinds of toms to marimba sounds to various sythdrum sounds. Masuda's bass tone is dead-on on this album, sometimes viciously heavy and distorted and other times dancing delicately through melodic motifs, with good dose of tripped out wah wah soloing here and there. Burning Stone's production values are a hint of later Ruins albums like Vrresto and Pallaschtom. Play the song "Praha in Spring" to convince anyone you know of this band's genius.

It's refreshing to hear music so energetic and pure that can retain a little complexity. Even more than Fred Frith's Skeleton Crew experiment, Ruins show that focus and restriction can breed creativity.

Although Tatsuya Yoshida's musical world is no doubt influenced by zeuhl (as Ruins grew from the group "Yellow Biomekanik Orchestra 2") his drumming is powerful and tribal where Vander was subtly propulsive. His style of play on this album is exuberant and features a lot of fill-work, even during verses.

The album opens with the definitive Ruins song, Zasca Coska, and during its 7 minute play time you become acquainted with all the elements that make Ruins so great - seductive, dark bass and percussion grooving, primordial zeuhl chanting in a language you've never heard (not Kobaian but apparently Tatsuya's own invention) overwhelming energy and the odd avant-garde break into noise or semi-improv. The vocals may be offputting as they're a little woolier and unprofessional than the conventional zeuhl tone, but all this justifies Ruins as its own separate entity. You'll hear more no-wave and post-punk than jazz, here.

Not all the compositions are gloomy; about one in three of the tunes are rejoiceful or triumphant, featuring fast, folky melodies. Elsewhere there are songs you could mistake for demented pop-funk, albeit in 7/4 and pared down to the percussion section. What this reviewer appreciates most about "Burning Stone" is that variety is distilled from an instrumental combination often relegated to supporting musicians in more rock-heroic roles - as the focus is on rhythm you'll be hearing no symphonic flourishes or pastoral lushness, but at least your lust for solos will be sated as both musicians are playing them from the alpha to the omega, intertwined, inspired and at maximum musical capacity.

The zeuhl-influenced brutal prog of Ruins isn't the sort of thing you expect to sound quite this accessible, and yet the energetic and exuberant Burning Stone somehow manages to offer a clearly enunciated on-ramp to getting to grips with the Ruins sound without at all compromising the intensity or complexity of their music. Beginning with its longest composition, Zasca Coska, the album then runs through a range of bite-size excursions into a unique sonic world, making this a great point of entry for the Ryuichi Masuda era of Ruins. Tatsuya Yoshida as always is the power behind the drum kit here, with some excellent moments to showcase his diverse percussion skills.

I listened to the earlier Ruins EPs and Stonehenge prior to this, all of which sound like they were recorded from the bottom of a well, and a re a brutal thrashing mess. As many reviewers say here, Burning Stone is perhaps the better entry point into listening to Ruins, as its a lot more polished and produced. It also contains a bit more progression and diversity in terms of the styles used.

The opening track Zasca Cosca and third track Praha in Spring are perfect examples, still containing the brutality that is Ruins' main point of difference, but also with some genuine structure and quality musicianship. Vocals throughout the album have similarities and differences with Magma Zeuhl. The language is fictitious, and there are the high-pitched shrieks synonymous with Klaus Blasquiz, but they are much more cartoony than other exponents of the genre. Tracks like Onyx and Shostak Ombrich do show that Ruins could do the foreboding instrumental style of Zeuhl though.

There is a place for the absolutely mental - Power Shift for example sounds like they got Mr Blobby involved on vocals (one for Brits of a particular vintage there), but for me the best run of tracks is Real Jam; Misonta; Spazm Cambilist - all great rhythmic tracks with a light-hearted feel thanks to the inclusion of marimba.