''Ruiner'', released on August 16, 2005 through Nitro Records, is the fourth full-length album from the

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

-based

melodic hardcore Melodic hardcore is a broadly defined subgenre of hardcore punk with a strong emphasis on melody in its guitar work. It generally incorporates fast rhythms, melodic and often distorted guitar riffs, and vocal styles tending towards shouting and ...

band

A Wilhelm Scream A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

, and their second album since changing their name from Smackin' Isaiah in 2002. It received mostly very favourable reviews.

Background and recording

In September 2004, the band said they were in the planning stages for their next album. Two months later, they began pre-production for it. In January 2005, the band went on a brief north east US tour with

Rise Against Rise Against is an American punk rock band from Chicago, formed in 1999. The group's current line-up comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist Tim McIlrath, lead guitarist Zach Blair, bassist Joe Principe and drummer Brandon Barnes. Rooted in hardcor ...

Most Precious Blood The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instituted ...

and

the Explosion The Explosion is an American punk rock band from Boston, Massachusetts. On February 13, 2007, the band announced that they had left Virgin Records, and on April 30, 2007, that they were to split up. On September 4, 2007, the band played their ...

. They recorded it at

The Blasting Room The Blasting Room is a recording studio in Fort Collins, Colorado. Founded by members of the punk rock band All in 1994, it is owned and operated by musician Bill Stevenson (Descendents, Black Flag, All, Only Crime) and Jason Livermore. The ...

in Fort Collins, Colorado in February 2005.

Composition

In an interview with Racket Magazine, whilst on the tour of which the Australian tour edition was released, now ex-guitarist Christopher Levesque confirmed that the other guitarist, Trevor Reilly, sings the song "

In Vino Veritas ''In vino veritas'', also written as ''in uino ueritas'', is a Latin phrase that means "In wine, there is truth", suggesting a person under the influence of alcohol is more likely to speak their hidden thoughts and desires. The phrase is sometim ...

II". It was also revealed in the same interview that Bill Stevenson also participated with vocals and that Levesque did the piano parts in the song.

Release

A Wilhelm Scream appeared at

The Bamboozle The Bamboozle is an annual three-day music festival which was held in New Jersey from 2003 to 2012, and is scheduled for a 2023 revival by its founder. Every year, new bands competed for spots during the two days. The event evolved out of the ...

festival in April 2005, and played a few shows with

BoySetsFire boysetsfire is an American post-hardcore band from Newark, Delaware. Formed in October 1994, boysetsfire is composed of guitarists Chad Istvan and Josh Latshaw, vocalist Nathan Gray, and bassists Chris Rakus and Robert Ehrenbrand. Lyrical theme ...

. Following this, they toured the US with

the Lawrence Arms The Lawrence Arms are an American punk rock band from Chicago, formed in 1999. They have released seven full-length albums and toured extensively. Band history Pre-history Prior to forming the Lawrence Arms, the three band members were active i ...

and

the Methadones The Methadones were a band formed in 1993 by guitarist/vocalist Dan Vapid. The Methadones initially lasted only a few shows before Vapid put them to the side to focus on his main band Screeching Weasel. By 1999 Dan was no longer a member of Scree ...

. On June 17, 2005, ''Ruiner'' was announced for release in two months' time; alongside this, its track listing was posted online. Five days later, the album's artwork and "Killing It" were posted online. A Wilhelm Scream supported

Lost City Angels Lost City Angels were a punk rock band from Boston, Massachusetts. Their most well-known line-up consisted of members, Ron Ragona, Adam Shaw, Chris Duggan, Drew Indingaro and Nick Bacon. Overview Lost City Angels were founded in 2001 by Adam ...

for a handful of shows in July 2005, leading up to a two-week appearance on that year's

Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...

. On August 12, 2005, the music video for "The Soft Sell" was posted online. ''Ruiner'' was released on August 16, 2005, through

Nitro Records Nitro Records was an American independent record label, founded in 1994 and operated by The Offspring's Dexter Holland and Greg K. Nitro is famous for being an incubator for punk rock artists who have subsequently become successful, most notabl ...

, which was promoted with a US tour with Catch 22 and

Whole Wheat Bread Whole wheat bread or wholemeal bread is a type of bread made using flour that is partly or entirely milled from whole or almost-whole wheat grains, see whole-wheat flour and whole grain. It is one kind of brown bread. Synonyms or near-synonyms ...

running into September 2005. Following this, they appeared at a Nitro Records showcase at

CMJ Music Marathon CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...

, supported Pennywise for the rest of September 2005, and supported

Strung Out Strung Out is an American punk rock band from Simi Valley, California, formed in 1989. They are known mainly for their musical style, which fuses aspects of melodic punk rock, progressive rock and heavy metal to form their primary sound. They ...

for a handful of shows in October 2005. They went on a US tour with

Alexisonfire Alexisonfire (pronounced "Alexis on Fire") is a Canadian post-hardcore band formed in St. Catharines, OntarioRoss, Mike.Band is a scream", CANOE JAM!, April 30, 2004. Retrieved on July 17, 2007. in 2001. The band's members are George Pettit (vo ...

the Receiving End of Sirens The Receiving End of Sirens was an American rock band from Belchertown, Massachusetts, United States. Formed in 2003, the band broke up in 2008 then briefly reunited in 2010. On February 18, 2020, the band announced a brief reunion tour. Overv ...

and

Idiot Pilot Idiot Pilot is an alternative rock duo from Bellingham, Washington, consisting of Michael Harris and Daniel Anderson. History After their previous band, pop-punk outfit Azero Cherry, broke up, high schoolers Michael Harris and Daniel Anderso ...

. They closed out the year appearing at the

KTCL KTCL (93.3 FM) is a radio station licensed to Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Owned by iHeartMedia, it broadcasts an alternative rock format targeting the Denver metro area. Its studios are located alongside iHeartMedia's other Denver stations at 4695 ...

-run Not So Silent Night festival, and played shows with the Blackout Pact. In January 2006, they embarked on a tour of Europe with

Lagwagon Lagwagon is an American punk rock band originally from Goleta, California, just outside Santa Barbara. They formed in 1989, went on hiatus in 2000, and reunited several times over the years. Their name comes from the band's tour van, which can ...

. Following this, they supported

Less Than Jake Less Than Jake is an American ska punk band from Gainesville, Florida, formed in 1992. The band consists of Chris DeMakes (guitars, vocals), Roger Lima (bass, vocals), Matt Yonker (drums), Buddy Schaub (trombone), and Peter "JR" Wasilewski (saxoph ...

on their headlining US tour until March 2006. Around this time, the band released two outtakes from the sessions – "Diver" and "They Like Their Turtlenecks Ribbed" – on

7" vinyl In music, a single is a type of Art release#Music, release, typically a song Sound recording, recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for record sales, sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most ca ...

. On February 7, 2006, the band announced that bassist Curtis Lopez left, stating that he "took off on a plane today for some reason so he's outta here"; they appeared at the

Groezrock Groezrock was an annual music festival that took place in Meerhout, Belgium. It started as a small rock and pop festival with one stage and a few hundred people attending, but evolved into a large punk rock/hardcore punk festival, with attendan ...

festival in April 2006. Nick Deiner of

the Swellers The Swellers were an American punk band from Flint, Michigan. Their music is influenced by melodic punk rock bands as well as alternative and indie rock from the 1990s. Band history On June 24, 2002, brothers Nick and Jonathan Diener brought the ...

, who "quit college to do this tour", temporarily filled in for the rest of the shows. After the trek concluded, A Wilhelm Scream held auditions for a full-time replacement. In April 2006, the band toured across Canada supporting Protest the Hero; former the Fullblast bassist Brian Robinson joined A Wilhem Scream for this trek. In July and August 2006, they toured the US supporting Lagwagon. Following this, the supported

on their headlining European tour until September 2006. A Wilhelm Scream then toured across Australia with

. Coinciding with this, Australia-based Shock Records released a tour edition of the album, which included the outtake "Bodies and Suitcases" as a bonus track.

Reception

Punknews.org ranked the album at number three on their list of the year's 20 best releases.

Track listing

Personnel

;A Wilhelm Scream * Nuno Pereira -

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

* Trevor Reilly -

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, backing vocals, art direction, lead guitar on “The King is Dead”. * Christopher Levesque - guitar,

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

* Jonathan Teves -

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

, backing vocals * Nicholas Pasquale Angelini -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

;Studio personnel * Bill Stevenson -

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

, mixing, additional vocals * Jason Livermore - production, engineering, mixing * Andrew Berlin - additional engineering * Brian Kephart - additional engineering * Gene Grimaldi - mastering ; Additional personnel * Rob Dobi -

artwork A work of art, artwork, art piece, piece of art or art object is an artistic creation of aesthetic value. Except for "work of art", which may be used of any work regarded as art in its widest sense, including works from literature ...

and

illustrations An illustration is a decoration, interpretation or visual explanation of a text, concept or process, designed for integration in print and digital published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, video ...

Release history

Details

* Recording studio: The

Blasting Room The Blasting Room is a recording studio in Fort Collins, Colorado. Founded by members of the punk rock band All in 1994, it is owned and operated by musician Bill Stevenson (Descendents, Black Flag, All, Only Crime) and Jason Livermore. The ...

Fort Collins A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

* Mastering studio: Oasis Mastering in

Burbank Burbank may refer to: Places Australia * Burbank, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane United States * Burbank, California, a city in Los Angeles County * Burbank, Santa Clara County, California, a census-designated place * Burbank, Illinois, ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

References

{{Authority control A Wilhelm Scream albums 2005 albums