Ruled by Reason - The Dawning of Dystopia

Moshing breakdowns? Check! Chuggy riffs? Check! Fret pyrotechnics? Check! Occasional clean singing interposed between growled vocals? Check!

Ohio’s Ruled by Reason ticks on all clichés known in metalcore and subgenres, yet surprisingly their debut album really excels at sounding angry and vital. It may the furthest thing from original yes, but “The Dawning of Dystopia” is enjoyably violent.

The short of it is that “The Dawning of Dystopia” is heavy enough, is melodic enough and is played with deft precision, with band constantly churning out powerful riffs along with some jack-hammering drum work. Just listen to "We Met Destruction" and "Within These Memories" to realize that the boys mean business. Some of their faster stuff comes across much like an All Shall Perish/After the Burial hybrid with guitarists Brian Montgomery and Matt Tarach delivering plenty of hyper fast and technical riffs. Luckily, they know just when to say when and drift way into a more melodic and easily digestible approach that prevents the songs from becoming too show-off.

Whilst “The Dawning of Dystopia” is nothing that gets the blood pumping with feverish excitement, it’s nonetheless a good collection of songs that shows a young act in control of a clever and refined song craft. Definitely worth of further investigation. (6.8/10)

David Alexandre

Band info: www.myspace.com/ruledbyreason

Label info: www.executionkollective.com

For fans of: After the Burial, Parkway Drive, All Shall Perish