Isn’t it funny how when someone not into metal asks what music you’re into and you just say ‘metal’ (OK I usually say ‘loud and ‘orrible’), but if a metalhead asks you go into subgenres? I mean I like traditional metal, NWOBHM and stuff, have pretty much left doom behind except MDB and funeral stuff and now find myself, apart from connoisseur of ‘weird shit’, as a black metal guy (including dungeon synth). But I’ll give most things a listen if friends suggest them.
I cannot, however, abide slam and won’t voluntarily listen to it again.
I don’t like hardcore, with literally a couple of exceptions, can’t stand metalcore and most modern thrash leaves me utterly bored.
And yet here I am with Ringworm. A band made up of complete scene veterans, who have been going since 1991and whose members must have dipped their toes in every subgenre going including crossover. And Ringworm are described as metalcore/thrash.
So why? Well I’ve known the name since forever and no one had picked it up is the honest truth. Plus, you never know and I’ve like a fair bit of death thrash over the years.
Hit the button and the opening to the title track has a great melodic little speedy guitar run backed by a sharp, up front production and a sound that to me screams ‘Nuclear Blast’ all over. It scampers up the hill like a good ‘un and… throws itself off the cliff claws whirling, throat screaming itself to bloodied ribbons with a metalcore attack. It’s the kind of explosion of energy that makes the pit go nuts. It has metal guitar runs, hardcore vocals and utterly pummelling drums and bass. It’s a beast no doubt, and tight as… well insert metaphor of choice.
‘Carved In Stone’ goes harder on the metalcore; fierce, direct and raging. There’s still that old style thrashy feel though which works really nicely. ‘No Solace, No Quarter, No Mercy’ by contrast feels a bit one dimensional to me and just feels like being sucker-punched and leaving me with no memory of the incident but the refrain. ‘Death Hoax’ goes so hard and fast it almost catches up to the previous track and with some really cool tempo changes keeps up the interest for the full three minutes.
And this is how it goes for most of the pretty perfect 31 minute and 2 second play time. Closing song ‘Playing God’ does go introspective on us, a curious chill out after twenty-eight minutes of utter raging fury, but other than that this is one relentless album. And you know it for what it is, it really can’t be seriously faulted in the slightest. It has severe musical chops, the playing is tight as all hell and they know how to shift tempos and move utterly seamlessly between the more metalcore pounding and thrashy speed too keep the speed and interest and just drag you along in their slipstream.
As the album doesn’t try and pile 28 songs into your brain it really is a great example of go in, beat the crap out of you and get out before the cops come kind of album. You will remember the album but maybe not too any of the individual songs, which is always my issue with this kind of stuff. But putting that aside as my own issue not the band’s, what Seeing Through Fire demonstrates is a veteran band still keeping all their considerable weaponry razor sharp and with more energy than a pitbull on coke.
It will barrel into you, bowl you over and keep stomping and ripping you until there’s very little left.
Kinda cool really.
(7/10 Gizmo)
Leave a Reply