Go ahead, turn it down. Like two tigers feasting on raw flesh with the white blades and inherent aggression nature selected for them, this is uncompromising stuff. The pounding of the skins and various shredded tissue may seem unnecessarily grotesque to the uninitiated, but it's no more disgusting than your average visionary art. This is a fierce, relentless exhibition, and something that most people aren't prepared for.

Ruins are the brawny brainchild of Japanese drummer Tatsuya Yoshida. When he formed the band sometime in the summer of 1985, it was originally supposed to be a power trio, but after the guitarist didn't show for their first rehearsal, it was bumped down to a bass/drum-only duo. At the time, Yoshida was also performing with YBO2, which featured avant-alternative guitarist K.K. Null. The seeds of the present-day communal atmosphere of Japanese underground musicians began sprouting with this early moonlighting affair, as Null would go on to play with Zeni Geva (among others), and Yoshida would go on to play with just about everyone.

From an early point, Ruins established their alliance to the avant-garde tradition. On their earliest recordings, they teamed up with American experimental icon John Zorn, and eventually put out albums on his Tzadik label. Their sound is dense mix of industrial noise, prog theatrics, and free-improvisation. Some critics have used the term "jazzcore," but there really is no describing the duo's sound accurately. They play something of a fusion of punk and progressive rock, with an emphasis on everything at once. Almost all of their music features the kind of angular riffs and meter-changes made famous by maligned prog bands such as Gentle Giant and Emerson, Lake and Palmer, but with precisely 0% of the pretension or general pomposity many people associate with that music.

Ruins also sing, or something thereabouts, and anyone unaccustomed to total vocal freakishness will probably run for cover after a few seconds of this stuff. After 12 studio albums, 10 recorded collaborations, and several EPs (not to mention seven-inches and compilation appearances), I'm still taken a little aback by Yoshida's jittery caterwauling and current bassist Hisashi Sasaki's warbling falsetto. This kind of approach to vocals probably grew from Yoshida's obsession with French bizarro-proggers Magma, who specialized in music that was a little like Carl Orff's Carmina Burana crossed with early-70s Miles Davis. In a phrase: the Opera of the Apocalypse, and I think that would apply to Ruins as appropriately.

Mandala 2000/Live at Kichijoji Mandala II captures the duo in concert, performing tunes mostly from their last couple of albums, and a fair amount of improv. It's actually their first decently recorded live album, and is definitely the next best thing to witnessing their brand of carnage in person. Songs like "Gharaviss Perrdoh" and "Hyderomastgroningem" get by on sheer super rock. That is, there's still a discernible link to toe-tapping and fist-pumping anthem-and-roll here, though you may have to wade through a few layers of distortion to find it. The former tune veers off the path with some fairly harsh-- even by Ruins standards-- group improvisation, but quickly rediscovers the groove as Sasaki's monster bass drives all its edges into the ground, while never betraying the studied dexterity it takes to pull this music off.

"Vrresto," "Bupphairodazz" and "Pallaschtom" are more convoluted samples of Ruins phenomena, as riffs and beats fly by so fast that it's often difficult to really tell what's going on. Adding to the confusion is the omnipresent punk ethos of always playing with as much intensity and reckless abandon as possible, so you'd be forgiven for thinking sizable chunks of the music were mere walls of noise. Listen closer (though I suggest adjusting the volume beforehand), and you'll begin to see that it isn't just noise, and that these guys must have spent hours rehearsing just to get through a whole tune. Either that, or they're simply not human. You'd be forgiven for thinking that, too.

"Classical Music Medley" and "Hardrock Medley" are fairly self-explanatory: 20 or so famous classical and classic rock themes, respectively, get thrown in the blender and spit out in two minutes or so. They're novelty tunes, to be sure, but I mean, really, by this point in the album you'll be grateful for anything recognizable. Additionally, there are several tunes featuring violinist Katsui Yuji (Rovo, Bondage Fruit); the basic aesthetic remains essentially the same, albeit slightly more colorful. I should also mention that you only get about a second of silence in between each of the 23 songs, so mathematically speaking, you should be prepared for less than a half-minute, cumulatively, to catch your breath.

And so we have yet another relentless Ruins album. I shouldn't have to tell you that these guys are an acquired taste for most people. Personally, I think it's the best possible thing that could ever have come out of progressive rock, but others might not even consider this music at all. For newcomers, I would advise starting out with one of the studio albums, such as Burning Stone or Hyderomastgroningem, before diving in here. After that, check out Symphonica, which tones down the chaos but drastically increases the prog factor by adding keyboards and extra singers. And then, when you're ready to settle down to a night of thrills and spills, pop this one in. It's a beast, and I put it to you: go ahead, turn it down, if you must. This is hardcore. This is Ruins.

-Dominique Leone, November 26th, 2001