Since their formation in 1998 in Washington, D.C., Age of Ruin has put out a couple releases that have received some praise, but they still remained at a mostly local level. That changed last year, when they signed with Eulogy and began working on a full-length. The result is "The Tides of Tragedy," probably the band's most consistent work to date.

Age of Ruin's other releases were solid, and each had positive qualities, but each also had some problems. Some songs were very good, others just seemed like they were filler. With this release Age of Ruin manages to take the positive qualities of their previous work, without making the same mistakes. They still play their style of Swedish influenced metal, with plenty of nods to At The Gates and In Flames, but this time around, none of the tracks drag. The addition of Ben Swan at vocals also adds to the band's overall sound, as his powerful screams make the songs more forceful. Age of Ruin also uses clean singing, but they do it tastefully, something bands like Atreyu could learn from. Musically, the band moves beyond the realm of imitation, pulling out some genuinely impressive riffs. They throw in enough breakdowns to keep the metalcore crowd appeased, but they show enough talent to have staying power beyond the popularity of the genre.

Overall, this is step in the right direction for this band. They showed the potential on previous releases, but seemed to lack the direction necessary to put it all together; on "The Tides of Tragedy" it appears that Age of Ruin has found their sound. With more experience under their belt, there's no reason why their next release shouldn't be even better.

My Favorite Track: Siren's Passage

Yesterday's Ghost