Philadelphia’s Poison Ruïn emerged from the shadows in 2021, with two demo tapes of nervy and angular “dungeon punk” crudely recorded on budget gear. The brainchild of Mac Kennedy, the sole recording member of the band, they soon found a home at Relapse Records, and followed up with 2023’s acclaimed Härvest. Now Mac is back with Hymns From the Hills, bringing a newfound fidelity to the band’s sound while retaining the rough edges that brought so many fans into the fold. For Hymns From The Hills, Mac leveled up from his South Philly rehearsal space and set up shop in nearby Clifton Heights in a “somewhat treated room” that had absorption panels installed. Rather than centering the studio around a master console, Mac employs a Mackie 1642 and a “busted ass” Allen & Heath MixWizard to provide portability for his process of recording all of the instruments for Poison Ruïn himself. With a shelf along the wall, he’s able to work in a modular fashion, positioning the board by his Tama Granstar kit for drums or sliding it down to track guitars.
Although the band features a full lineup of Philly punx: Allen Chapman (drums, ex-Sheer Mag), Nao Demand (guitar, Zorn), and Will McAndrew (bass, The Damage), it was agreed to keep the “if it ain't broke, don’t fix it” approach to recording and have Mac record all the instruments himself. Sonically falling somewhere between punk and metal, or “driving rock music,” the philosophy is to push on the boundaries of the genre without losing the thread. Recording solo enabled Mac to take his time to come up with leftfield ideas. “One of the beautiful things of recording with a group of people is there’s an inertia to it. Decisions are made and that’s how you see what works. For Poison Ruïn, I’m not seeking that inertia. I want to push out more against the walls and do something different.”
