Yesspaz
05-12-2004, 10:20 AM
Ok, this is not a suggestion but a recon effort. Anyone know anything about The Ruins?
I found this tid-bit at Epitonic.
"You could call them prog on PCP. The Ruins are among the most notorious among Japan's aurally demanding noise rock exports. I mean, these guys make the almighty Boredoms look like kindergarten fare. Like virtually all Japanese noise bands, they are incredibly talented, precise musicians, which stands as part of the reason why their rhythmic onslaught is so utterly overwhelming; they play games with your head in so many other ways besides sheer crushing noise (a tactic they do resort to regularly, however). The Ruins take the cosmic complexity of classic progressive rock outfits -- Yes, Rush, King Crimson, Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, etc. -- and turns it into psycho minimalist avant-punk. In other words, utterly chaotic and out of this world, yet astonishingly rigorous and disciplined. It's like this giant musical in-joke, these Japanese madmen transforming the humorless melodrama of '70s stadium rock into high-speed comic book nonsense punk, and while it's a bit challenging to the ear, it's also pretty entertaining."
And this tid-bit at AllMusic.
"Ruins (Tatsuya Yoshida (drums/vocals) and Hisashi Sasaki (bass/vocals)) plays a unique form of manic and twisted progressive rock for these millennial times. This duo's compositions are complex and can be disorienting to any listener who is accustomed to less innovative, dynamic, and demanding musics. Yoshida, the founding member of Ruins, formed the band in 1985. Since that time, there have been a number of different bass players, including Ryuichi Masuda, Hisashi Sasaki, and Kimoto Kazuyoshi. Bandleader/drummer/singer Yoshida credits such diverse influences as progressive rock stalwarts Magma, classical composers such as Chopin, and traditional throat singing from Tuva. Though hints of these and other influences (e.g. Bill Bruford, Rush, Pink Floyd, Gong, King Crimson, Magma, Yes, and Genesis) often come through in the Ruins sound, there is no mistaking them for anyone else. Many of their compositions employ odd time signatures, sudden tempo changes, and passages of heavily processed noise. The bass, which unlike most has six strings, is often threaded through various effects. Both members of the band sing vocables that complement one another. These vocables are meant to be nonsensical and that's how they sound and are usually improvised, as are portions of their songs. Their overall sound is chaotic yet precise, noisy yet harmonious, catchy yet repelling, frenetic yet disciplined."
I found this tid-bit at Epitonic.
"You could call them prog on PCP. The Ruins are among the most notorious among Japan's aurally demanding noise rock exports. I mean, these guys make the almighty Boredoms look like kindergarten fare. Like virtually all Japanese noise bands, they are incredibly talented, precise musicians, which stands as part of the reason why their rhythmic onslaught is so utterly overwhelming; they play games with your head in so many other ways besides sheer crushing noise (a tactic they do resort to regularly, however). The Ruins take the cosmic complexity of classic progressive rock outfits -- Yes, Rush, King Crimson, Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, etc. -- and turns it into psycho minimalist avant-punk. In other words, utterly chaotic and out of this world, yet astonishingly rigorous and disciplined. It's like this giant musical in-joke, these Japanese madmen transforming the humorless melodrama of '70s stadium rock into high-speed comic book nonsense punk, and while it's a bit challenging to the ear, it's also pretty entertaining."
And this tid-bit at AllMusic.
"Ruins (Tatsuya Yoshida (drums/vocals) and Hisashi Sasaki (bass/vocals)) plays a unique form of manic and twisted progressive rock for these millennial times. This duo's compositions are complex and can be disorienting to any listener who is accustomed to less innovative, dynamic, and demanding musics. Yoshida, the founding member of Ruins, formed the band in 1985. Since that time, there have been a number of different bass players, including Ryuichi Masuda, Hisashi Sasaki, and Kimoto Kazuyoshi. Bandleader/drummer/singer Yoshida credits such diverse influences as progressive rock stalwarts Magma, classical composers such as Chopin, and traditional throat singing from Tuva. Though hints of these and other influences (e.g. Bill Bruford, Rush, Pink Floyd, Gong, King Crimson, Magma, Yes, and Genesis) often come through in the Ruins sound, there is no mistaking them for anyone else. Many of their compositions employ odd time signatures, sudden tempo changes, and passages of heavily processed noise. The bass, which unlike most has six strings, is often threaded through various effects. Both members of the band sing vocables that complement one another. These vocables are meant to be nonsensical and that's how they sound and are usually improvised, as are portions of their songs. Their overall sound is chaotic yet precise, noisy yet harmonious, catchy yet repelling, frenetic yet disciplined."