A melodic and energetic instrumental intro kicks off For Ruin's latest demo, and effectively serves as a prelude for what's to come. Now featuring a full line-up, the Irish outfit delivers a considerable expansion and refinement of their past work, while still remaining rooted in what could be generally called melodic extreme metal. The guitar work is quite captivating for a demo, constantly busy and for the most part melodic; it is joined by competent drumming and snarled vocals as the band build interesting and well delivered compositions.

While the two songs that follow the intro keep things consistently enjoyable, the reworking of "Treading" from their previous demo is likely to raise a few extra eyebrows -- not because it is necessarily better, but it is quite different and even unexpected in a demo. All tranquil atmosphere and well played acoustic strings for a few minutes, the song then evolves into a full-bodied composition, resulting in a well-rounded, doomy number. One more track in the same mould as the first two wraps up a very successful demo, unpretentious and enjoyable. Fans of early Dark Tranquillity should take notice, though the resemblance may be vague.

Given a decent studio budget that allows them to eliminate any remaining rough edges, I have little trouble imagining an interesting and competent commercial debut for the band.