Hailing from a morgue that goes by the name of Peterborough, The Ruined are a band that people may be tempted to write off because the singer looked like he failed an audition for Aiden because he was too skinny. But if you look beyond the whole zombie thing, The Ruined have subtly and skilfully manoeuvred themselves into being one of the UK's most promising young bands. How? Because they write songs that immediately put them leagues ahead of the majority of the chasing pack.
Musically, 'Hear Lies' is the album AFI would be making nowadays if they spent less time filming videos and more time actually, y'know, not being rubbish. It's balls-out punk rock all the way here, with some pleasingly deep production that gives proceedings a clear, crisp tone. With a knack for writing choruses replete with at least a year's supply of gang vocals and arms-aloft singalongs, it's belters like “City of the Dead” and “Brains” that show their talents. Using familiar punk sensibilities and marrying them to some catchy structures and intelligent songwriting, they ensure that they won't be forgotten as quickly as some of the other bands peddling tired horror-punk at the moment.
The main reason 'Hear Lies' won't let itself be characterised as a bunch of songs about getting your brains munched is that the whole zombie thing is simply a delivery method. Without wishing to over analyse, it doesn't take a particularly scholarly mind to work out that 'Generation Braindead' and 'Skeleton Crew' are more than just odes to George Romero films. Using a potent metaphor such as this it's easy to see why they have gained so many friends in such a short period of time – if we are mindlessly walking through the 21st Century, consuming all in front of us, surely it was only a matter of time before a band like The Ruined came along? Intelligence masking as dumb fun, sure, but it doesn't stop 'Hear Lies' from being a whole load of fun as well as a late contender for being one of the best albums of the year.
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