Rest Among Ruins

Fugue

By Jay Oakley

Rest Among Ruins is a band worth getting excited about. Based out of Baltimore, Maryland the three-piece band is led by vocalist Mike Semesky and featuring guitarist Ben Schmitz and drummer Geoff Palmer have just released their debut album Fugue.

This is a concept album based around a patient Mike knew while working in a psychiatric hospital. The album takes you on an amazing journey around the traumatic events that let to the patients time spent in the hospital.

A fourteen track onslaught featuring heavy guitars and a pounding rhythm section but also features stellar ballad-type tracks like "In Focus" that don't lose their heavy feel but make you aware that not everything has to be sung in a screaming fashion. A stand-out track of the album is "Reach the Edge" and features a terrific duet featuring female vocalist Aleka Farha. But if you like your metal aggressive don't you worry, "Beyond the Storm" is the song for you featuring deep, chilling vocals intertwined with a melodic chorus.

Overall this is a high-quality release and worth of some chatter around the water cooler.