Origin : Norway
Genre : Melodic Black Metal
Release : 2018
Album downloads only available to members
Album Info / Review
**Cor Scorpii – Ruin**
Cor Scorpii’s third full‑length, *Ruin*, lands in the Swedish black‑thrash scene with the swagger of a band that has lived through hell and learned to plant its boots where the soil is unforgiving. Over a 40‑minute span, the recording zips from feral blasting to intricate melodics, never lingering too long in any one mood.
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### Sound & Atmosphere
The album opens with a crushing, slightly dissonant riff that hits all the low burners— a classic power‑metal barrel roll that grows into a black‑metal scream. That first track sets a tone of **rawness hybridized with precision**: the guitars stay chunky and lo‑cut, while the rhythm section drives with a weighty, almost industrial pulse.
Mid‑album you hit tracks where the atmosphere shifts to something more claustrophobic. A sweeping, tremolo‑laden riff—the hallmark of Cor Scorpii—climbs over a backdrop of brittle, almost jungle‑wire cymbals. It feels like a ritual chant beside a storm‑shattered cathedral, a juxtaposition that carries the listener in a spiral of tension and release. Lyrically, the band drifts from cosmic queasiness to human wreckage. That narrative thread is supported by a recurring melodic motif that eventually morphs into an almost dubstep‑esque mid‑section on one of the closer songs—a bold move that pays off by re‑energising the track.
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### Riffs
A standout feature throughout *Ruin* is the complexity of the guitar lines. Cor Scorpii mixes **ticking, hallmarks of melodic death** with hearty, sync‑opated breakdowns that feel novel rather than derivative.
One of the most striking passages is the opening riff of track three, where the dual guitars perform a **broken, interlocking arpeggio** over a palm‑picked backdrop. It is deftly executed, then immediately resolved into a thunderous chorus that confirms the band’s penchant for checking the sonic pressure valve when necessary. The breakdowns are tastefully translated into a percussive onslaught—no filler beats, only deliberate mechanical force that pushes the groove forward.
The mid‑song interlude on track five is a fine showcase of **ornamented melodic lines** that contrast sharply with the rawness outside. It provides a breath of melodic air before plunging back into the raw zone. This sort of clear delineation is, overall, an admirable way of keeping the album from being a single, one‑dimensional torrent.
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### Production Quality
The mix leans toward a raw, under‑staged aesthetic rather than a slick, over‑engineered finish. The guitars sit at a noticeable low‑end, but are not drowned out; they farm hard enough to register whenever the rhythm switches. The power of the mid‑range—particularly around the **16‑beat drum patterns**—is maintained without a loss of clarity. While the production of earlier releases gave way to a murkier soundscape, *Ruin* presents an audible distinction in the levelling of the drums, allowing each hit to punctuate the overall tempo cleanly.
The vocal treatment occupies the highest 4000‑Hz range, but is not buried under the low frequencies. The use of layered screams is relatively minimal, suggesting an intentional avoidance of the “wall of sound” that can defeat a track’s internal narrative. One could describe the album’s overall fidelity as “robust but grounded,” because the mixing engineer seems to have looked for linear placement rather than PCR.
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### Overall Impression
Cor Scorpii’s *Ruin* manifests an impressive spectrum. The aggressive ethos stays consistent, while melodic elements add warmth without diluting the intensity. The band’s willingness to explore varied rhythmic structures—specifically the 6‑ and 7‑beat alternations—suggests maturity in songwriting while maintaining that chaotic spirit.
The album’s cohesive narrative trajectory and tightly structured tracks keep a listener firmly anchored, making *Ruin* a compelling commentary on perseverance through the “ruin” it describes. It is a daring yet thoroughly playable addition to any Swedish metal enthusiast’s collection, a careful composition that follows clearly while defying sentiment.
