Untitled
(via Ruined Families)
“Keep the children asleep with fairy tales of happiness and imaginary needs,” boldly begins Takis Zontiros on the second track off Blank Language, his band’s second release from 2013. “Make them become what you couldn’t be, keep them fed with meat, but hungry sexually, brainwashed with useless pride” he continues as the band delivers resounding blast beats and iconoclastic riffs where the boundaries between different instruments are only fleetingly drawn. The name of the song was “To New Parents”.
Ruined Families are a hardcore punk five-piece from Athens, Greece. After two powerful yet unripe records, they released Blank Language in 2013. The album sounded like a sonic version of the economic crisis and the following riots that kept their country tense for a long time. It’s as violent and chaotic as it should be, but it doesn’t limit itself to wanton anger and criticism: Ruined Families know precisely where to hit, and even more how to do it. Just like the music, their lyrics are blatantly arrogant, provocative, and fearless.
Three years later the band released Education, a more polished record that dares to explore a wider range of sounds and structures. The guitar riffs occasionally indulge in melodic outputs, the drums often slow down, but the band still maintains its overbearing anger. The reason for this evolution can be found in the change of topic: from analyzing the emotional effects of the political and economic situation in Greece and elsewhere, Ruined Families now focus on new technologies, new medias and on the impact they have on people’s lives.
Instead of using slogans, they give birth to new ideas, new concepts and new implicit ways to revolt. They do this through every tool they have: their songs, lyrics, music videos, and artwork. Everything serves to convey the band’s views and thoughts. All the different aspects come together in a precise and evocative way: Ruined Families create their own three-dimensional language made of words, sounds, and images. As they range over both coherent and discordant solutions according to what they need to accomplish, a whole new band-related imagery and philosophy is set.
Ruined Families: