Album Review: My Ruin – Declaration of Resistance (Magick Room Recordings)

Following a decade-long hiatus from metal, iconic alternative crossover metal band My Ruin are back and more pissed off than ever. Unashamed in its political leanings, ‘Declaration of Resistance’ is more than just a pithy title, it’s a call to arms. The new album will be released on January 16th, 2025.

If the thought of this new My Ruin album being filled with fiery political statements criticising oppressive administrations, fear based politics, attacking fascists, racists, transphobes, and those who claim to care about women but really want to go back to a time when they ‘knew their place’ upsets you, then this album isn’t for you, it’s about you. You’re also an idiot as My Ruin has always been anti-authoritarian, anti-conformist, and anti-bullshit.

There’s nothing surprising here as far as that goes, but to hear them with this much fire in their bellies in 2026? Now that’s a surprise and a very welcome one.

So, what do you know about My Ruin in 2026? The powerhouse couple – Tairrie B. Murphy (lyrics and vocals) and Mick Murphy (guitar, bass, drums) – haven’t released an album since 2013’s ‘The Sacred Mood’, yet their relevancy remains as strong as ever. It’s not just the fact that new My Ruin music comes with such potency, it’s the fact it expertly combines metal, punk, hardcore, and more in a whirlwind of confrontational heaviness and groove, while also showing off evolved elements that plays to the duo’s strengths.

One being Tairrie B. Murphy’s voice and lyrical content. Her ability to spit fire, rap style, in one instance and then scream with throaty fury in the next, is staggering. When she sings, speaks, or screams, it’s impossible to not pay attention and her lyrical content is sharp, purposeful, and empowering. There are so many instances on the album where her intensity seems to hit near vocal chord tearing levels. One such track that really shows off the rawness in her voice is True Allies, a track that has the band working with Jack Osborne of Call to the Void (he sounds great too).

Mick Murphy takes on a multi-instrumental role here and seems to have a lot of fun exploring different styles that fit the fiery vein that runs through the record. Delivering a cacophony of punchy riffs, powerful groove, hefty hooks, and more that draw from their past, present, and future. You can hear the My Ruin that was, here and there, but this also a completely new beast too and it demands attention.

I love how varied the record is. How it can go from a trippy nu-infused groove effort like Contempt, to the energised punk and hardcore focused effort that is HHRL (the guitar soloing is banging here), to the scathing body shaker and head banger that is Fragile Like a Bomb. How about The Audacity with its kick ass chorus? Or Lady Liberty’s experimental makeup? How about a wicked cover of L7’s Shitlist? This is My Ruin music with purpose, proving just how interesting and addictive a record it is.

It all comes back to one thing though and that’s how pissed off My Ruin are and how they take all that negativity and channel it into something important and relevant. Something that has the potential to wake some people up, make them think, and remember that standing up to authoritarians is the only way to live. Declaration of Resistance is the soundtrack to defiance, encouraged by a band being their authentic selves. This is My Ruin and if you don’t like it, tough shit. They’re back, and the world is a better place for it.

My Ruin – Declaration of Resistance Track Listing:

1. Compromised
2. The Audacity
3. True Allies (feat. Jack Osborne)
4. Contempt
5. Infinite Connection
6. HHRL
7. Fragile Like a Bomb
8. Dark Eyes of London
9. Lady Liberty
10. Muzzle Velocity
11. Truth Or Consequences
12. Shitlist (L7 Cover)

Links

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