FORETOKEN
Ruin
PROSTHETIC
Symphonic melodeath debutants overstay their welcome
“Extreme symphonic metal” - it’s a combination that should be ideal. After all, classical and heavy music share a penchant for being as dramatic as possible, so putting the two together should be positively exhilarating. Yet, out of the many bands who try it, only a select few ever excel, and Foretoken aren’t exactly on the path to join the pantheon of Emperor and Septicflesh. Their orchestral melodeath is a sadly boring trudge, stunted by a preference for up-to11-minute-long songs that have enough ideas to fill maybe three. Their restless blastbeats - courtesy of Triptykon/ex-Necrophagist man Hannes Grossmann - bombastic strings and whirlwind riffs are fun for a while, but minimal deviation from those fundamentals makes Ruin suffer. Next time, borrowing some brevity from At The Gates might be in order.