In Ruin – Seeds of the Past

In Ruin is an American dark folk act, founded by Terry Collia in 2002. “Seeds of the Past” is in fact a demo cd-r recorded by In Ruin in 2003, and later re-issued with bonus tracks by Bunkier Productions from Poland. The eight tracks directly make clear where the inspiration comes from. Collia clearly was heavily inspired by classic apocalyptic folk acts like Death in June, and the next generation of folk bands, especially Of the Wand and the Moon.

The recordings on this cd-r did not have a professional production, and the songs only feature acoustic guitar and vocals. The songs are not very complicated, just strumming acoustic guitar and half-whispered melancholic vocals. Critics will say that the music is too simple and that it sounds too much like other bands. On the other hand, fans of the genre never seem to get enough of this type of acoustic folk. Though the music is rather minimal, you can hear that In Ruin sounds honest and passionate, and manage to convey quite some melancholic emotion.

The music on this cd-r is certainly not brilliant, but considering this is a demo with early unpolished work, “Seeds of the Past” holds enough promise to keep an eye on In Ruin. They already dared to cover Current 93, which resulted in an entertaining grim and minimal version of ‘Oh coal black smith’, with additional bass, electric guitars, programming and spoken word. Furthermore the two later recorded bonus tracks already show a more daring, confident approach with more dimensions.

At the moment In Ruin is working on a new album “The Frustration of Invisible Hands”, which will hopefully completed in the summer of 2005. Meanwhile we are treated to a free online single with two tracks, which can be downloaded from the band’s website.

artist: In Ruin
label: Bunkier Productions
details: cdr, 8 tracks, 30 min. [BV]