8.27.19 by Ryan Masteller

I think these guys are all wet. Black metal doesn’t have a redemptive arc! It’s all about death and mayhem. Right? Those guys with corpse paint. They’re up to no good. Plus, they’re quite growly, and I’m not sure they end up in the right at the end of the story.

Still, it’s hard not to wonder, and Ruined Spirit, aka the duo of cellist Jess Whelligan and guitar and electronics maestro Andrew Hillock, does their dangedest to imagine the world where black metal was good for you. Over two fifteen-minute pieces (Display won’t even CONSIDER your tape unless it’s at least fifteen minutes long), Ruined Spirit plays to the pensive ambient fan in all of us, the one that prefers post rock but can totally get behind the atmospheric buildups as much as the heart-pounding crescendos. And who’s to say the buildups aren’t equally emotional and harrowing? Not this dude. 

So Ruined Spirit uses their powers to tip the scales of evil to the side of good, inviting us on an unknowable gray journey into the future where sense is senseless and nothing is clear. We cling to the sides of our pensiveness like survivors of a shipwreck clinging to life preservers. We have no idea where we’re headed, but we’re sure it’s probably not good. But there’s a redemptive arc, so somebody probably sacrifices him- or herself to save somebody else in a sad climax. But that’s the point!

And to be clear, I’m pretty much trolling all of you about the black metal stuff – I like it as much as the next weirdo.

Grab one of these 40 copies from Display before they’re all out! Specs:

– Clear Cassette
– Printed Sticker Label
– Printed J-Card
– Clear Case
– Labeled Black Bag
– Sticker Included