We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Daniel Ruin a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Daniel, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

Age of Ruin started in 1998. We were all friends in our teenage years, and were heavily influenced by music. Metal was changing rapidly during the 1990s, and grunge was coming onto the scene. Pop punk was a new phenomenon. So naturally we hung out at record stores and music shops. You would see flyers hanging up announcing local shows. This is where the magic really kicked in. We realized that there was a local scene; you would see the same faces at every show. We couldn’t get enough of this, and it also occurred to us that we could do the same. So all of the jam sessions in our parents’ basements were preparing us to be a real band. We took that energy and started writing original music. But we learned quickly that there is still a business side to being in a band. We studied what other bands were doing right. That meant recording a demo. That meant making flyers and making friends with the people that worked at kinkos so we could get copies made, then working our tails off passing them out at shows. It also meant supporting other bands. In terms of musicianship, the only way to get better is to practice your instrument…a lot.

Daniel, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Age of Ruin is a melodic death metal band, influenced by heavy American bands like Pantera, Bloodlet, Darkest Hour, and Hatebreed, but also European bands like In Flames, At the Gates, Soilwork, Cradle of Filth, and more. We grew up in the DC hardcore / punk scene, which is where we owe our roots. We spent much of our youth going to see bands like Damnation AD, Fugazi, Battery, Dismemberment Plan, etc. This led to us founding Age of Ruin in 1998. We self-released a full length, followed by EPs on Tribunal Records and DFF Records, eventually signing to Eulogy Records. On that label we released The Tides of Tragedy in 2004. AoR toured extensively across the country, also hitting Canada and Europe. Most recently, we released an EP which was produced by none other than Mike Schleibaum, creative genius behind Darkest Hour. We are most proud of the newest material we have been writing, which actually brings back some of our grunge influences from our teenage years. We plan to hit the studio late this summer to track these songs and get them released late this fall or early winter.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

It is really rewarding to share our music with the world. We get a real dopamine hit from performing on stage. Part of that is recognizing that we are part of a community, and supporting our fellow musicians is equally rewarding. One of my favorite aspects of playing a show is watching the other bands playing. I think we influence each other more than we recognize. Its from this reason that certain cities have their own unique sound; DC indie rock and hardcore punk, or the Seattle grunge sound are two examples.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

It is not widely known how difficult from a financial perspective it can be to be an artist. The gear we use costs a lot of money up front, but also to maintain. We have to constantly replace drum sticks, guitar strings, amplifier tubes, while also maintaining a vehicle to get us to the places we perform. So the best thing society can do is offer support financially. Not a handout, but buy a tshirt. Pay for the tracks you are downloading. Go attend a show. If we all do this it is a win-win.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thisistheageofruin.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisistheageofruin/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thisistheageofruin
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPbz1Uy1jrz9LmyjnF05k-g/
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5OlOc49L0IERvwqbuRost8

Image Credits
Pablo Van Winkle, J Worcester, Lindsay Simmons