In Ruins

J. Michael launched the project that became In Ruins by tracking a series of basement demos in 1994 in his hometown of Reading, PA, at a time when he was still serving as frontman for the regional metal group Inner Sanctum. Relying solely on a sequencer, he shaped an EP of textural, gothic black metal issued in 1996 under the name Black Thorns. That recording fused the impact of classic brutal metal acts Venom and Celtic Frost with more classically tilted European metal atmospherics and earned favorable notice from underground outlets such as Metal Maniacs and Sounds of Death. The exposure ultimately attracted Metal Blade Records, which inked Black Thorns—soon rechristened In Ruins—to a multi-album contract in 1998.

As primary guitarist and vocalist, Michael recruited bassist Jason and drummer Sean James to form a live lineup, then took the group into a Reading facility to cut the band’s first full-length album. Titled Four Seasons of Grey, the set appeared on Metal Blade in August 1998 and featured updated renditions of the earlier Black Thorns material, including “Vampire, Garden of Thorns” and “Beyond the Black Lake,” alongside three newly written songs.

Following a stretch of limited activity marked by only occasional concerts, In Ruins parted ways with Metal Blade in 2001.