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Ruffians > Ruffians > Reviews
Ruffians - Ruffians

Writing that's a tad more exciting than the cover - 75%

Gutterscream, March 19th, 2007
Written based on this version: 1985, 12" vinyl, Victory Records

By ’85, metal bands had a choice of roads. All of them were paved, one way, painted with passing lanes, and already trodden with tire marks. Of course, some of the tire marks were darker with age than others. Some were crazier, made by vehicles seemingly almost out of control. Whatever the case, there were plenty of styles for which to open up their four barrel carburetors (two barrel for glam), but of all the avenues, the one with the most cars was the most tried and tested, and is the one this San Francisco quintet downshifted onto and became part of traffic.

With a low-gloss, non-severe name that sounds more late ‘70s punk than metal, Ruffians take the straightaway, mid-‘80s traditional path that was already a littering ground for so many bands since metal got its engine installed. A couple of borderline speed bands zip by in the fast lane, usually with less skill, diversity, and even taste. In the slow lane Great White and Pantera are passed regularly, sometimes to the wails of horns. The center lane is where you’ll find Ruffians. Ahead of them in timing but with very similar modifications are Queensryche (from their ep to somewhere between The Warning and Rage for Order), Helstar, a slightly less weighted Fates Warning, and the unknown Villain, a band Carl Albert would be fronting in about a year.

From that abridged list, it’s quite easy to glean their musical perspective. Unblemished by road tar, these classily-played and jointed tunes are produced well and with craftsmanship that comes with a bunch of guys who aren’t strangers to their instruments. The band’s founding fathers, Behrhorst and Atchison, are a pair of guitarist that can deliver with vibrancy solos awake and alert, and it’s easy to hear a comradery that since their high school days together has flourished. Carl Albert is an unheard talent, touched by G. Tate’s hand as well as some others, but that’s pretty much part of this style’s territory. Basically all is very near perfect on the virtuosity end. Unfortunately, this divine delivery isn’t the cure for highway hypnosis.

The ep’s fuel is model songcraft procedure, a very formulaic and time-tested one that has been plowed under by the last three decades worth of deliveries, and that’s speaking from ’85. Yes indeed, many of the latest generation of bands use this prescription as the air in their lungs as well, but these guys seem to have an exhaust system that’s louder than others. Boil it down to the actual songwriting then, ‘cause while the tracks are honed with a steely traditional sharpening stone, it doesn’t guarantee they’re going to make for the best weapons. The writing is rather guileless in its sterile nature, pocked with moments of interest that have a difficult time keeping their eyes on the road. “Eyes of Fire”, the only song with visible grit in its teeth, is the highlight, period. “Fight For Your Life” has its slightly hooked pre-chorus/chorus and the mean streaked main riff of “Bad Boys Cut Loose” (despite its corny lyrical view) shows some mettle, but then “Run for Cover” with its Alice Cooper/“School’s Out”-like chorus (nitpicky? yeah probably), while more buoyant, sort of throws a tree branch into the wheel well. The obligatory prolonged ballad “You’re All I Need”, a song that should’ve driven side one to an end, rounds out the festivities instead with a bang nowhere near the backfire explosiveness the disc needs.

Unfortunately, this deficiency of stirring songwriting sours the goodness of the project, and like the middle lane itself, Ruffians motor along without identity. No one fusses over a vehicle in the center lane unless it’s a desirable piece of machinery, and well, I’ve never been very keen on sedans that don’t at least have a sunroof or something.

Collector’s corner: as a final note, this ep is a moonbeam for rare vinyl
pirates, much more the buried treasure than the 206 Records-released Queensryche ep and Night on Brockton with the ‘goblins’ cover, but is matched in scarcity by the Villain ep.