On Hymns From The Hills (Relapse Records), Philly’s Poison Ruin prove they are continuing to perfect their craft, past the point of what other Punk bands are doing today. They are not banging out fast, rowdy anthems, but some of their catchiest and most melodic songwriting yet. This connects them closer to the roots of the genre, when Punk emerged from Rock music in the mid-seventies. One of the areas where the band shows the most improvement to achieve this is in the vocals. They retain varied levels of grit when called for, but more sung than just snarled. Continue reading
