Ominous Ruin - Requiem (Album Review)

Ominous Ruin - Requiem
Released: May 16, 2025

Lineup

Crystal Rose // Vocals
Alex Bacey // Guitar
Mitch Yoesle // Bass
Harley Blandford // Drums
Joel Guernsey // Guitar

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Fifteen years after they formed in the Bay Area, tech death metal band Ominous Ruin have a record that builds on their underground fandom. Requiem is the first album with vocalist Crystal Rose, whose gutturals are uncompromising, giving the band a different energy with which to explore new corners of their technical abilities. 

There’s no novelty left in female death metal vocalists so let’s just put Rose up as a dynamite growler, who has a vicious tone. She can alter her articulation to provide different shades, from deep growls to sharp shrieks to a full bodied roar. She makes her mark on ‘Seeds of Entropy’, using her different sounds to leave no doubt the band retains their death metal roots. Her fast paced rasp is excellent and the lyrics never get lost for the same of keeping it extreme. She ups the ante on ‘Eternal’, with the kind of extended growl that sends crowds into a frenzy. She comes out of the melodic guitar section with a layered growl/shriek that underlines her approach is at home in Ominous Ruin. 

It helps that Rose is backed by a band of wizards. Much of the driving force comes from drummer Harley Blandford, who is dynamic and precise without sounding repetitive. His double kick is absurd and whether he’s pushing blast beats or keeping the groove, he’s at the center of each song. He’s brutal on ‘Divergent Anomaly’. 

What separates them from others in the genre is that the guitarists aren’t afraid to get a bit weird. There’s brilliant (if standard) instrumentals that use classical style to create a threatening, imposing mood but they also find tones and approaches that are fresh. The high pitched solo on ‘Divergent Anomaly’ is one example, as the notes sound like an organ. The 80s synth effect that opens ‘Fractal Abhorrence’ is but a preview of the song’s exploratory nature. The madness from Rose stops so the guitars can jam, then they play synth style leads while Rose barks. ‘Architect of Undoing’ features a melodic intro that hammers away when Blandford joins in and it’s a thrashfest. There’s a cool bridge that’s just guitars and bass that leads into a sweet breakdown, with the bass repeating the percussive melody from the bridge. It’s exceptional. 

The Bacey / Guernsey duo really shine on ‘Staring into the Abysm’, preferring melodic tapping and giving bassist Mitch Yoesle room to highlight his own finger work. It’s an odd structure to the song but that helps it stand out. There’s a John Carpenter aesthetic to their playing on the title track, ‘Requiem’, with the scales sounding like a horror movie. It’s masterful shredding without showing off for the sake of it. The effect on the solo echoes the earlier synths, if only for a fleeting moment.

Requiem is the album that can launch Ominous Ruin up festival bills and should have them considered among the elite tech death bands in the world. It’s that good. If you want gimmick free technicality you shouldn’t miss it. 

Rating: 9 / 10
‍Requiem is out now on Willowtip Records. Get it here. 
Review by KJ Draven @kjdraven