It seems every few years, a punk band will come around who is embraced by the metal scene. Perhaps it’s because of their aesthetic, instrumentation, just how closely they resemble Motörhead, or a combination of the three, but there’s been no shortage of punk acts over the years who belong to us, the latest of these bands being Poison Ruïn. Formed in 2020, this Philly based outfit have made significant waves with their unique brand of scuzzy, lo-fi medieval themed deathrock. Yes, while their peers in this niche serenade us about grave robbery, love lost, and other Danzigian fare, Poison Ruïn wax poetic on subject matter more characteristic of Zeppelin or Rainbow.
On their latest affair, Hymns From the Hills, the band doubles down on this approach and expands their musical palette even further, blurring the lines between hardcore, goth rock, old school metal, and dare I even say folk (more on that in a bit). It is an unconventional listen from an unconventional band. Although as a whole it may dissuade purists from both the metal and punk sides of the spectrum, it also boasts enough quality cuts drawing from both wells. Surely, it’ll pique the interest of your neighborhood metalpunk whom boasts a battlejacket on which a Tank patch sits comfortably next to the likes of Amebix.
Following a dungeon synth intro, “Lily of the Valley” kicks things off with a straightforward spook-punk fest in the vein of Samhain or Christian Death. It’s repetitive as all hell, emphasizing its hook above all, as if to lure us in to an album that boasts far more depth overall, which it does. Case in point, the title track. As much as I hate to use the term, this song is folk punk done frighteningly right. Now when I say “folk punk”, I don’t mean your stereotypical trust fund kid cosplaying as a hygiene-deprived crusty with an acoustic guitar. I mean this, as well as cuts like “Eidolon”, “Pilgrimage”, and “Serpent’s Curse”, come off like a punk band who spent an afternoon taking hits from the bong while spinning Wishbone Ash and said, “Yeah, *cough*, let’s do this!” The end result is as wild as that last sentence makes it sound.
Fear not punks! There is no shortage of purist material scattered about this album for you as well! Brash outbursts of classic hardcore aggression like “Guts (Lay Yourself Aside)” and “Turn to Dust” would fit right in the pogo pit-starting sounds of the early ’80s, while the grim, pulsating post-punk of “Puzzle Box” channels the eeriness of Killing Joke, perhaps the patron saints of “punk bands co-opted by headbangers”. Speaking of headbangers, the band saves their most metal moments for last. “Crescent Sun” comes off as a punkified spin on epic era Bathory, and the closing “The Standoff” even incorporates tinges of black metal in its blasting intro, before honing in on the bouncy deathrock that kicked this album off.
With sword firmly grasped in hand, Poison Ruïn march valorous across the metalpunk battlefield, fearless of death, or worse yet, the cries of the naysayers: Too punk for the metalheads, too metal for the punks. You’ve heard it all before, going back to the days of the aforementioned Motörhead nearly half a century ago. If the worst accusation levied against them is not fitting neatly into a box, this is a band who will proudly plead guilty before splitting you and I in two. We could all use a bit of Poison Ruïn’s warrior spirit in our everyday lives!
7 out of 10
Label: Relapse Records
Genre: Hardcore Punk
For fans of: Samhain, English Dogs, Killing Joke