Poison Ruin - "Hymn from the Hills"

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Photo by Kat Bean

Philadelphia punk group Poison Ruin just released the title track from their upcoming album, and you're gonna want to check this one out ASAP. While last month's "Eidolon" combined punk and metal, "Hymn from the Hills" is more of a straight up punk song... relatively speaking. Poison Ruin have their own take on the genre, and while it's undisputably punk, it doesn't exactly sound like what you imagine when you think of punk. The song is fast, but has this interesting edge that's both noise rock and New Wave. There's also an earthy feel to the song that makes me think of folk punk even though "Hymn from the Hills" is decidedly not folk punk. In a genre that can be repetitive over the last fifty or so years, it's great to see a band like Poison Ruin chart their own way.

Mac Kennedy (frontman, lyricist, and guitarist) says of his band's latest single:

"'Hymn from the Hills' is about living on the outside, by force or by choice, and what is lost and gained in the process."

You can watch the video for "Hymn from the Hills" below. Hymns from the Hills, the album, is due out April 3 on Relapse Records, and is available for pre-order here. For more on Poison Ruin, check out the band's website. Upcoming tour dates are below the video and include dates in Medford, MA, Portsmouth, NH, and Brattleboro, VT.


Apr 11: New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
Apr 12: Medford, MA - Deep Cuts
Apr 13: Portland, ME - Genos
Apr 14: Portsmouth, NH - Press Room
Apr 15: Brattleboro, VT - The Stone Church
Apr 16: Montreal, QB - Petit Campus
Apr 17: Toronto, ON - The Garrison
Apr 18: Detroit, MI - Edgeman
Apr 19: Muskegon, MI - Rake Beer Project
Apr 21: Cincinnati, OH - Northside Tavern
Apr 22: Chicago, IL - Subterranean
Apr 23: Minneapolis, MN - Zhora Darling
Apr 24: Milwaukee, MN -Quarters
Apr 25: St. Louis, MO - The Sinkhole
Apr 26: Indianapolis, IN - Healer
Apr 28: Cleveland, OH - Happy Dog
Apr 29: Pittsburgh, PA - 222 Ormsby
Apr 30: Richmond, VA - Cobra Cabana
May 01: Baltimore, MD - Ottobar
May 02: Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church

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