Ruins

Ruins is a mainstay on Japan's fabled underground noise scene, but the duo's sound owes more to the dank, musty realms of '70s prog-rock than anything, say, Thurston Moore would be caught listening to. Drawing inspiration from such weird, obscure bands as Magma and Area, as well as prog heavyweights like Yes and King Crimson, drummer and group mastermind Yoshida Tatsuya's great achievement is the creation of a sound that's aggressive and energetic enough for noise punks who thought they hated prog. For the perfect primer, check out the Skin Graft imprint's new-and-improved reissue of Refusal Fossil, a 25-track collection of studio outtakes and live recordings.

Sometimes catchy, at other times flat-out maddening, Ruins' frantic sound has influenced an entire generation of heavy 'n' spastic bands, including Orthrelm, the Locust, Lightning Bolt, and the Flying Luttenbachers.

For the most part, Tatsuya has done all this with just the help of a bassist (he's gone through several over the past couple of decades). On this tour, however, he'll be touring solo -- so who knows what to expect?