Heavy Song of the Week: Poison Ruin Go Medieval Motörhead on “Eidolon”

Heavy Song of the Week is a feature on Heavy Consequence breaking down the top metal, punk, and hard rock tracks you need to hear every Friday. This week, we highlight Poison Ruin’s “Eidolon.”

Don’t be fooled by the artwork — this ain’t no fantasy metal. Philly’s Poison Ruin dish out old-school punk rippers, adhering to the classic traditions of the form by self-recording their music and capturing a natural, analog sound. As for their visual cues, the band applies Medieval imagery as a focusing lens on our own grim realities, deftly turning the idea of escapism — generally the appeal of fantasy aesthetics — on its head.

That said, Poison Ruin actually do get a bit metal on their excellent new single “Eidolon,” locking into a doomy intro riff and some tasty leads. But when the band kicks into high gear and settles into a driving uptempo pace, the thunderous charge — made more cacophonous by the barks of Mac Kennedy — brings to mind early Motörhead.

After taking one of our first-ever HSOTW honors three years ago, Poison Ruin reclaim their rightful place at the throne, solidifying their status as the knights-errant of modern punk.

Honorable Mentions:

Dropkick Murphys – “Citizen I.C.E.”

Props to Ken Casey. It’s one thing to make some social media posts, reshare “Abolish ICE” messages on your stories, etc. But Casey hit the pavement and protested the Minneapolis ICE raids with his fellow Bostonians, and he used his platform with Dropkick Murphys to unleash this protest song — an update of older track with new lyrics, including the barbed phrase: “Too scared to join the military/ Too dumb to be a cop/ Citizen I.C.E.”

Mayhem – “Realm of Endless Misery”

With their European tour set to kick off, Mayhem peel off another track from their forthcoming album Liturgy of Death. Fast dissonant riffing and blast beats comprise the first section of the song, as the Norwegian pioneers make a hellish noise that dissipates into a murky, psych-prog middle movement. A skin-pounding solo by Hellhammer guides the arrangement back to its original theme in anticipation of a final, two-minute barrage.

mclusky – “i know computer”

This two-minute number is definitively mclusky — skeletal post-hardcore structured around the prominent bass lines of Damien Sayell. Frontman Andrew “Falco” Falkous provides the obligatory mclusky guitar stabs, and the band settles into a skronky rhythmic workout by the time the chorus comes around: an utterly sarcastic chant of, “It’s a real nice feeling.”