Ruiner (A Wilhelm Scream album)

In September 2004, the band said they were in the planning stages for their next album.^[2] Two months later, they began pre-production for it.^[3] In January 2005, the band went on a brief north east US tour with Rise Against, Most Precious Blood and the Explosion.^[4] They recorded it at The Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colorado in February 2005.^[5]

In an interview with Racket Magazine, whilst on the tour of which the Australian tour edition was released, now ex-guitarist Christopher Levesque confirmed that the other guitarist, Trevor Reilly, sings the song "In Vino Veritas II".^[6] It was also revealed in the same interview that Bill Stevenson also participated with vocals and that Levesque did the piano parts in the song.^[6]

A Wilhelm Scream appeared at The Bamboozle festival in April 2005, and played a few shows with BoySetsFire.^[7][8] Following this, they toured the US with the Lawrence Arms and the Methadones.^[9] On June 17, 2005, Ruiner was announced for release in two months' time; alongside this, its track listing was posted online.^[10] Five days later, the album's artwork and "Killing It" were posted online.^[11] A Wilhelm Scream supported Lost City Angels for a handful of shows in July 2005, leading up to a two-week appearance on that year's Warped Tour.^[12][13] On August 12, 2005, the music video for "The Soft Sell" was posted online.^[14] Ruiner was released on August 16, 2005, through Nitro Records, which was promoted with a US tour with Catch 22 and Whole Wheat Bread running into September 2005.^[10][15] Following this, they appeared at a Nitro Records showcase at CMJ Music Marathon, supported Pennywise for the rest of September 2005, and supported Strung Out for a handful of shows in October 2005.^[14][16] They went on a US tour with Alexisonfire, the Receiving End of Sirens and Idiot Pilot.^[17] They closed out the year appearing at the KTCL-run Not So Silent Night festival, and played shows with the Blackout Pact.^[18][19]

In January 2006, they embarked on a tour of Europe with Lagwagon.^[20] Following this, they supported Less Than Jake on their headlining US tour until March 2006.^[21] Around this time, the band released two outtakes from the sessions – "Diver" and "They Like Their Turtlenecks Ribbed" – on 7" vinyl.^[22] On February 7, 2006, the band announced that bassist Curtis Lopez left, stating that he "took off on a plane today for some reason so he's outta here"; they appeared at the Groezrock festival in April 2006.^[23][24] Nick Deiner of the Swellers, who "quit college to do this tour", temporarily filled in for the rest of the shows. After the trek concluded, A Wilhelm Scream held auditions for a full-time replacement.^[25] In April 2006, the band toured across Canada supporting Protest the Hero; former the Fullblast bassist Brian Robinson joined A Wilhem Scream for this trek.^[26][27] In July and August 2006, they toured the US supporting Lagwagon.^[28] Following this, the supported Rise Against on their headlining European tour until September 2006.^[29] A Wilhelm Scream then toured across Australia with Less Than Jake.^[30] Coinciding with this, Australia-based Shock Records released a tour edition of the album, which included the outtake "Bodies and Suitcases" as a bonus track.

More information Review scores, Source ...

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[31]
Alternative Press	(5/5)[32]
Sputnikmusic	(3.5/5)[33]

Close

Punknews.org ranked the album at number three on their list of the year's 20 best releases.^[34]

• Recording studio: The Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colorado
• Mastering studio: Oasis Mastering in Burbank, California