Within the Ruins

JOE COCCHI REVISITS HIS CLASSIC PHENOMENA TONE (AND A COUPLE OF COMIC BOOKS) TO CRUSH THROUGH A SUPERHEROIC SEQUEL

- Gregory Adams

FOR WITHIN THE Ruins’ new comic book-themed Phenomena II album, vocalist Steve Tinnon obsessively thumbed through back issues of Blade and Superman to craft his lyrical character studies. As for founding guitarist Joe Cocchi, he ended up analyzing a different kind of superhero: himself. Ten years on from the metal bruisers’ initial aural ComiCon, Cocchi wanted the sequel to both honor and expand upon his virtuosic canon.

“It was fun to be like, ‘Let’s look back to where we were and where we were coming from,’” the guitarist says of revisiting the tone palette and techniques of their first Phenomena. “It was almost like ghostwriting, in a way. You listen to a band, and then you go, ‘Yeah, that’s up my alley… maybe I can pick some highlights and try to nod to the old albums.’”