THE BEST CD YOU'VE NEVER HEARD
September 2007

by Derric Miller
Staff Writer

The year 2000 was an off year for heavy metal releases. That was the time when Green Day, Kid Rock and Blink 182 battled the airwaves and video channels for their less than introspective brand of pop rock, and the time when Marilyn Manson was undergoing his metamorphosis into a 70-foot tall he-she and slapping people with his Holy Wood release. It really seemed to be a year of re-releases (entire Van Halen back catalog), live releases and box-sets, and for some, the end of a new beginning (Motley Crue New Tattoo).

Somehow lost in the morass was an American band from Providence, R.I. called Digital Ruin and their masterpiece, Dwelling in the Out, released in 2000.

This is, without a doubt, the best CD you've never heard.

This unassuming band was comprised of vocalist and keyboardist Matt Pacheco, guitarist Dave Souza, drummer Tim Hart and bassist Mike Keegan. The name alone, Digital Ruin, parallels their unique and innovative sound. While their influences spread mainly across the Dream Theater, Queensryche and Fates Warning landscape, there was an updated "digital" motif to their sound -- this wasn't a new band creating music you've heard before, but modernizing the music they loved from the prior decade and bringing it into the now.

Dwelling in the Out is a journey into depression, isolation, abandonment, and a scathing review of modern society where anything below the surface is not worth analyzing.

The CD begins with a heavy, eerie cacophony of guitars and electronic keys. You'll have so many nuances and information to digest just from the first minute, you'll be mesmerized. Once the vocals kick in, the menacing delivery of Pacheco has you paying attention as he talk/sings "I'll stay inside if you talk to me, about the places I left behind." Like Symphony X and Dream Theater, keys play a major role in the building of atmosphere, but those keys actually sound like keyboards. Digital Ruin's keys are all electronic noise, beautiful but sterile. The sense of isolation and not belonging builds into the end, where Pacheco pleads, "Tell me now … can you take me back where I belong? Back to my yesterdays?"

The title track, "Dwelling in the Out," is a monumentally heavy composition. The riffs are Sabbath-y, doom laden, and then you get church bells. Lyrics like this, poetic and biting, rarely are sung on any release: "You said that you were leaving. But I've got no time for goodbyes … that only means there's nothing to lose anymore." They repeat this sense of loss later, with the sorrowful line, "There's no one left to bring me down. How can I live without that?"

By the time you get to "The Forgotten," your critical ear should be somewhat hypnotized. You should be asking yourself, "What exactly am I listening to and why didn't I hear this before." Well, "The Forgotten" is as current as anything being written today, not only for its structure, but because of the content. It's about war, and the sound of bullets, machinery, and destruction fanatically greet you. You can picture a soldier thinking to himself as Pacheco sings, "If it's all the same, are we gonna learn someday? If it's all the same … take me now." It's frightening to ponder for even a second that a soldier could be thinking sentiments like, "Fire rains and cities burn and I've fallen by the dead, to say a prayer for those who care … but left me here instead." Souza's solo is emotional and yet matter-of-fact, and the drums from Hart sound like machinegun blasts. Digital Ruin makes sense of it all, and that's why it's even more poignant after all these years.

"Night Falls Forever" is the first time the keyboards are just keys, not effects, and Pacheco's accompanying vocals are honest and haunting. The best part about Pacheco is that you can't compare his voice to anyone else. He has the perfect voice to convey the Digital Ruin sound, but even more so, no one else could fill his shoes. Part of this is because he is the main lyricist for the band. He knows exactly what the words mean, and how to explain them. "Night Falls Forever" gets industrial at the solo, and Souza completely rips into a blurring passage. The quality never wanes, never …

The rest of Dwelling in the Out is as laudable. From the bluntness of "Letting Go" to the near uplifting "Along the Way," they set the bar at a level few bands have reached before. Sometimes, the best compliment you can give a CD is the word "complete," and Dwelling in the Out is one of the most complete works ever.

In other words, Digital Ruin's Dwelling in the Out is the best CD you've never heard.

www.myspace.com/digitalruinmyspace

(Note: After reading this editorial, InsideOut Music made this CD available at a ridiculous price of $4.98. Go to their Web store now and pick it up today!)

(Note: Dave Souza checked in and updated Hardrock Haven that although the band has been apart for six years, they have 10 to 12 working songs and Pacheco is trying to find the time to add his vocals to the compositions. Needless to say, let's hope they release their new CD to the masses and if it's anywhere close to Dwelling in the Out, then we are all the winners.)