Metalcore Stalwarts, AGE OF RUIN, Announce ‘Nothingman’ Album; Release New Single/Video

Metalcore stalwarts, Age of Ruin, are primed and ready to release new album, Nothingman, on October 17! But first…a new single (and b-side)! “Heavy is the Crown” is the first single from the forthcoming album.

“Heavy is the Crown” is streaming at the following locations:

open.spotify.com/track/71EzJfAtbEdopCApjMYb0M
music.apple.com/us/album/heavy-is-the-crown/1809646023

As an added bonus, the band has released a “b-side” (or non-album track) to coinicide with the new single. Have yourself a listen to “Holding on” via Spotify and Apple Music, and check out the lyric video.

Nothingman, Age of Ruin’s forthcoming album, is a collection of 10 songs that cuts a path to the heart with harmony and angst that others would be naïve not to mimic. The band sacrificed blood and sweat for two years to expel Nothingman. Age of Ruin began the recording process in October of 2023, and after nine months of tracking on location in Richmond, VA, at the Bakery Studio, in Washington, DC, at Ivakota Studio, and at the Riff Dojo in Takoma Park, MD, (the record was produced by Mike Schleibaum of Darkest Hour), Nothingman was complete. This is the biggest, most richly woven tapestry from the band yet, and the time to unleash it is near.

In 2023 and 2024, Age of Ruin did some precursory promotion of Nothingman’s material, traveling up and down the east coast, dousing nonbelievers with their fire, with such acts as Black Flag, Madball, Jimmy’s Chicken Shack, and Anvil. Yes, that Anvil.

Ripping guitars, unforgivably brutal drums, bass sounds that have shaken the underworld, and screeching vocals are just the beginning of this incarnation of a true headbanger’s incantation. What we saw unearthed back in 1998 has now grown. The road worn warriors of the AoRmy have forced enough breakdowns to overwhelm any AAA mechanic, with miles on the highway ahead.  

Their punk and metal roots hold firm, and their thrash tendencies are on full display as this towering presence of a band branches out over new tonal terrain and soundscape; reminding all who fall under its shadow, that the light shining through is a new dawn in the Age of Ruin. Nothingman will be celebrated in all formats and on all streaming platforms on October 17.

Age of Ruin released the stand-alone “Dying Days” single earlier this month. A music video for the track is available at youtu.be/cgH9I3s5_jo. The single is also available on Spotify and Apple Music. “Dying Days” was reimagined with the first recording featuring Ben Swan (vocals) since 2004’s Tides of Tragedy.

FFO: In Flames, Soilwork, Killswitch Engage, and Gojira.

Track Listing:

1. The Fixation
2. Heavy is the Crown
3. Lost in Shadows
4. The Traveler
5. Nothingman
6. An Awakening
7. The Ghosts We Carry
8. Promise Me
9. Bleed for Better Days
10. Lovesong

Credits:

Produced by Mike Schleibaum / The Riff Dojo.
Mixed and mastered by Will Beasley / The Bakery.
Original artwork, Oil on Canvas titled “Forest Mother” by Zack Dunn.

BIO:

The exact location of the dawn of man has been a constant subject of debate. Some say it was Prometheus delivering fire, some say it was Franklin discovering electricity, most people say it’s when Lars met James…but everyone agrees: those were simply precursors. Throughout the age of enlightenment, the renaissance, the reformation era and beyond, mortals have tried to make sense of mankind’s meaning on earth.

Most archaeologists believe that in the late 90’s, a surge of lightning fast riffs, guttural screams, devastatingly bass tones, and the relentless pulverizing rhythm of drums unearthed a crucial piece of this puzzle…this ushered in what would be known as The Age of Ruin. Those who heard it, really dug it. But those who dug it found there is much more than the surface layers. Music filled with textures, themes, and tunings that go deeper than a James Cameron film unbound by budgets.

For over 20 years, Age of Ruin has been firing off a relentless string of releases. Even the busiest trash compactors could not keep up with the amount of crushing that Age of Ruin crams into a single album, and this is so…with Nothingman. They have consistently delivered a brutal barrage of the heaviest hits metal has heard. Why stop At the Gates, when you can break down the whole house with your music? Why get Entombed when you can breathe new life into the scene? Why let the years waste away when the Age of Ruin can answer all of these questions?

Age of Ruin has definitely paid their dues, earning every ounce of the heaviest crown one band could carry. Naturally, the tonal tenure of the AoRmy servicemen is not something that can be held onto forever…the constant axe-wielding and riff hurling has required numerous changing of the guard over the years; however, in 2019, the core horsemen of the Age of Ruin (Benjamin Swan, and Daniel and Christopher Fleming) added Jonathan Clay, and Hendrik Osinga to the ranks, forging an amalgamation of devastation which would conjure a collection of songs that few, if any, houses could harness. Fortunately, under the tutelage and production of Sound-Sensei Mike Schleibaum (Darkest Hour), Age of Ruin would hone their tone in Mike’s Riff Dojo, creating an undeniable masterpiece of metal.