ORODRUIN is finally back with their second masterclass record!

Vocals, drums, and bass are all performed skillfully by longtime Orodruin frontman Mike Puleo, whose approach to each is a mirror of the band’s music itself; he never gets technical or tries to stand out, but his playing and singing match the music so perfectly that I can’t imagine another performance on the album. In particular, I love his vocal performance on Ruins of Eternity; Mike is emotional and earnest without sacrificing power, and his varied approach- ranging from a nasal warble to strident and powerful to sensitive in just a few minutes at a time- far surpasses anything else he’s done with Orodruin in the past. Mike’s talent for writing vocal lines plays a large part in the catchiness of the record, and it’s impossible not to leave the album with more and more lyrics stuck in your head, which is a talent more doom metal could benefit from.

Another point of interest is the album’s stellar production, which leaves everything audible without sacrificing power or charm. The song order is also extremely well picked- the relative speed and aggression of the gorgeous “War on the World” breaks up the slower pieces it’s sandwiched between, serving as the crescendo of Side A while also showing some of the band’s range. Ruins of Eternity is an intimidating forty-seven minutes long, but it flows by far faster than it should, leaving plenty of room for relistening, even back to back.

Black LP