Progressive deathcore giants Within The Ruins have released their new video for “Demon Killer.” The fierce new anthem is taken from the band’s album Phenomena II, out today via MNRK Heavy.
Phenomena II is the follow-up to Within The Ruins’ critically acclaimed album Phenomena, which was released a decade ago and has been streamed over 18 million times to date! “We had written a handful of songs and were looking for inspiration,” recalls guitarist Joe Cocchi. “We wanted to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Phenomena because that was the pinnacle of our career. I wrote a demo that reminded (singer) Steve (Tinnon) of Phenomena, so it was his idea to do Phenomena II. The styles meshed really well together in terms of the unique guitar effects and the themes, with each track telling a story from the perspective of a comic book character.”
With “Demon Killer,” the band tempers technical details with moral ambiguity in their portrayal of (DC Comics antihero) Constantine. “It ticked all the boxes by using that flawed effect that we started using on Phenomena,” explains Cocchi. “‘Demon Killer’ is Constantine. He was born into a world that never valued him. Steve analyzes his character by talking about his inner conflicts and how he fights evil with evil.”
“We are absolutely thrilled with the outcome of this video,” adds Tinnon. “The images and effects do incredible justice to the character of John Constantine and embody his struggle between the forces of good and evil.”
Within The Ruins formed in 2003. As the story goes, Cocchi and McGuill first teamed up in high school. They toiled away locally for a long time, solidifying Within The Ruins’ initial core lineup with former vocalist Tim Goergen. With each gig and project, they built a loyal fanbase and released Creature (2009), Invade (2010), and Elite (2013), paving the way for fan favorite Phenomena (2014). The latter, whose main theme is Marvel and DC characters, spawned two of their most popular anthems: “Gods Amongst Men” and “Enigma,” which garnered 4.7 million and 3.5 million Spotify streams, respectively. After Halfway Human (2017), the musicians welcomed Steve Tinnon to their ranks and released Black Heart in 2020. The highlights were “Deliverance”, “Devil In Me” and “Black Heart”, the latter of which received much critical acclaim.
Tinnon’s addition had breathed new fire into the band, and they continued writing and recording. In the meantime, Cocchi opened his own brewery, Tin Bridge Brewing, where he and McGuill both work. Tin Bridge Brewing also serves as the band’s home base, including their on-site studio. With Phenomena’s ten-year anniversary approaching, the musicians made a conscious decision to leap forward by looking back. The band wrote and recorded in their Westfield, Massachusetts, center, with Cocchi once again at the helm as producer.
“We had written a handful of songs and were looking for inspiration,” recalls Cocchi. “We wanted to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Phenomena because that was a high point in our career. I wrote a demo that reminded Steve of Phenomena, so it was his idea to create Phenomena II. The styles meshed really well in terms of the unique guitar effects and the themes, with each track telling a story from the perspective of a comic book character.”
Phenomena II is available on CD, LP and digital formats. Order here.
Phenomena II track list:
“Castle in the Sky”
“Day hiker”
“Demon Killer”
“Level 12”
“World Eater”
“The Last Son”
“Chaos reigns”
“Death Mask”
“Corruption”
“A world in flames”
“Enigma II”
Video for “The Last Son”:
Video for “Castle in the Sky”:
(Photo – Riamond Lomeli)
