"Whilst many of their contemporaries splintered and fell apart after only two albums (at best), My Ruin have held their own in a floundering industry, taken it in their stride and emerged triumphant. Ghosts and Good Stories, the sixth album from renowned LA rockers, is a dazzling reminder of why My Ruin gleaned the cult following of loyal fans since day one with the release of Speak and Destroy in 1999.
The ripping, doom-laden, stoner-drenched metal that is underpinned by driving drums on this album is accompanied by Tairrie’s smoky, sexy vocals and vitriolic screams that My Ruin are so revered for. Her husband and right-hand man Mick Murphy puts most musicians around today to shame, being responsible for playing not only the guitar parts that got him recognised as being one of the most underrated guitar players ever, but also the bass AND the drums on the entire record.
This collection of beautifully told stories that unwind and unravel before our ears has plenty of bark and a bite to match. Powerful statements such as “Every blessing ignored becomes a curse” in ‘Repose’ is reminiscent of powerhouse punk classics from bands such as Black Flag and Born Against. The dark and eerie Deathknell is close and personal enough that you can imagine sitting in a dark room filled with candles and incense watching Tairrie growl into the microphone and Mick pick out the goth-styled riff on his guitar only a metre away. The power to hold the listeners attention and transport them to a different place is something that My Ruin have always done well, but with tracks such as the spiralling ‘La Ciudad’ and stifling opener ‘Diggin For Ghosts’ it has never felt so real.
‘Abusing the Muse’ is a journey into the depths of the bowels of hell that sees Tairrie exercising her demon-like scream to the full extent to the backing of Mick’s instantly recognisable way of playing guitar that smacks of swagger and brutality. Kinned with Excommunicated and Eyes Black, it’s these tracks which really demonstrate that My Ruin really are as solid and staunch as most bands can only dream of being.Ghosts and Good Stories is an onslaught from start to finish that doesn’t let up; there’s no room for fluff, no room for floundering and certainly no room for questions. My Ruin are pioneers of their own brand of metal that amalgamates so many different styles it can’t be pigeonholed or categorised and in a world where genre-labelling is over-worked it’s a very welcome repose to have an album that stands on its own like all true, previously-released, now classic and much-lauded albums did before it."
Top Tracks:
Abusing the Muse, Turned Out, Excommunicated
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