Having been around for over 30 years and releasing 8 albums already, Ringworm have found a new home at Nuclear Blast for their latest album Seeing Through Fire having already firmly established themselves as a fan favorite in the in both the metal and hardcore worlds lets see what they have to offer on this release.
Storming straight in with title track Seeing Through Fire it’s a lot more thrashy than I was expecting, but it still has the hardcore tinge to it, but the thrash influence here is undeniable and when James ‘Human Furnace’ Bulloch vocals do kick in it forms a more hardcore rhythm and absolutely savages you with razor sharp riffing from Matt Sorg & Mike Lare and some impressive drum work from Ed Stephens. You then barely have time to take a breath before Carved In Stone smashes its way forward and this is a full throttle metal track and mixing hardcore but not really metalcore but whatever you want to call it, it’s done WELL, its urgent and gripping and the power behind the music is phenomenal! No Solace, No Quarter, No Mercy is another devastating mix of hardcore and metal and leaves you in a heap in the corner and does indeed show no mercy to the listener, a truly beautiful lesson in audio violence!
Death Hoax then keeps the frantic pace going with a more thrashy offering and it completely flattens you as its about as subtle as a brick to the temple and has some lovely mid pace groove metal thrown in for good measure another breathtaking song! Thought Crimes is an unashamed hardcore stomper and will have you 2-stepping and windmill kicking your nan through windows and not caring! The pure unadulterated energy and savageness through these songs is an absolute delight. Unavoidable Truth is another magnificently executed and wonderfully brutal hardcore attack, the way they refuse to drop the pace or relent on the savage nature of everything is the best thing about this album so far, nothing has made me think oh, that could have been left out, there is one aim here and that is to brutalize and destroy everything in its path, so far its mission accomplished.
House Of Flies follows on from everything else and provides no let up or relaxation and once again shows that when they put their minds to it that Ringworm really are one of the best around and also there are some wonderful solos just chucked in to add more texture and depth then You Want It To adds a bit of a grind tempo to the song but never falls out of line and of course mixes in some more delicious hardcore violence before Mental Decontrol reminds me of Discharge due to the uncompromising approach to the verses and blasting D-beat punk feel of the song, I’ve said it before if you want to copy Discharge do it at you own risk, here Ringworm do it and it pays off in absolutely glorious fashion!
The attack of Power And Blood doesn’t take its foot of the pedal for even one second and there is devastating brutality on show until the very last second of this song and just when you think you can’t take anymore, Playing God actually stops everything in its tracks and is unfortunately a bit of a stunted ending with subtle guitars and samples that kind of kicks into a groove at the end, the only bonus about this track is it FINALLY lets you finally catch your breath and compose yourself but, I didn’t want it to end like that, I just wanted MORE!!
Apart from the frustrating end, this album was insane! Full of energy, violence, brutality, and pure aggression, it is everything I want in an album, minus the end track and I really can’t find any other fault in it anywhere. If you like your metal thrashy and with a huge dollop of hardcore thrown in then this is for you, if you don’t then this might just be the band to change your mind! Seeing Through Fire is really THAT GOOD! And even with that little hiccup on the last track this is probably the easiest score I have given all year. 10/10
Apart from the frustrating end, this album was insane! Full of energy, violence, brutality, and pure aggression, it is everything I want in an album, minus the end track and I really can’t find any other fault in it anywhere. If you like your metal thrashy and with a huge dollop of hardcore thrown in then this is for you, if you don’t then this might just be the band to change your mind! Seeing Through Fire is really THAT GOOD! And even with that little hiccup on the last track this is probably the easiest score I have given all year. 10/10
Imperial Tide - Existence In Crisis (Mascot Records) [Mark Young]
With BC tags that suggest hardcore, metalcore and Las Vegas flavoured metal, it’s a heady brew that Imperial Tide have produced on what is their first EP. Rather than being anchored in one genre, they jump across and take influence from where they see what is best to fit the song, and the result is a rather energetic if shouty affair that is definitely aimed at those looking for something new.
It’s a quick EP, hitting quickly without pausing for breath, coming at you in that way that rolls over you in wave after wave until its done, and its pretty good in that respect. King Of The Guitar starts with that urgent Hip-hop beat, ushering in some down tuned riffing. Vocal phrasing and arrangement remind of early Skipknot, with a loose melody to it. The backing arrangement is heavy but really moves and you know that when they drop this live it will go off. It's not reinventing anything, but like all music it’s taking from what comes before and sharpens it up.
With BC tags that suggest hardcore, metalcore and Las Vegas flavoured metal, it’s a heady brew that Imperial Tide have produced on what is their first EP. Rather than being anchored in one genre, they jump across and take influence from where they see what is best to fit the song, and the result is a rather energetic if shouty affair that is definitely aimed at those looking for something new.
It’s a quick EP, hitting quickly without pausing for breath, coming at you in that way that rolls over you in wave after wave until its done, and its pretty good in that respect. King Of The Guitar starts with that urgent Hip-hop beat, ushering in some down tuned riffing. Vocal phrasing and arrangement remind of early Skipknot, with a loose melody to it. The backing arrangement is heavy but really moves and you know that when they drop this live it will go off. It's not reinventing anything, but like all music it’s taking from what comes before and sharpens it up.
Off The Leash soon follows with a more trad metal approach segueing into Slip, which is an absolute monster of a thing, and really highlights the genre leaps that they are capable of. This goes extremely hard, and the short length works well here. It doesn’t get chance to settle or give you chance to do so. R.A.T. sees them going back to that early Slipknot vibe, all dense breaks and pinched harmonics and will cause carnage live. Blood On The Streets see a change with a more restrained opening into a slow grind riff giving the space to Landon Hill to spit his venom until the guitars come back around to reinforce and then we into Malice In The Palace, all gang vocals and some rock-hard riffing going on.
It’s a frenetic 15 minutes, that as a showcase for their talents is pretty good. Its an unapologetic rush of energy that comes from youth, and that sheer belief in that what they are doing is unique and that it should be heard. The real test will be getting a full-length album together and seeing if it can maintain that fire all the way through, or will it be a case that they can’t sustain it. On the six songs here, there is evidence that they can. Its possible that they may need to mine their influences a bit more to really make a unique sound, but they are certainly on the way. In terms of a score, it is a difficult one because it’s an EP, but it is a very good one.
It’s a frenetic 15 minutes, that as a showcase for their talents is pretty good. Its an unapologetic rush of energy that comes from youth, and that sheer belief in that what they are doing is unique and that it should be heard. The real test will be getting a full-length album together and seeing if it can maintain that fire all the way through, or will it be a case that they can’t sustain it. On the six songs here, there is evidence that they can. Its possible that they may need to mine their influences a bit more to really make a unique sound, but they are certainly on the way. In terms of a score, it is a difficult one because it’s an EP, but it is a very good one.
It will find a vocal audience with our younger viewers and that is no disrespect because Metal always needs new faces to come in and upset people. Go and give them a listen, you and they deserve it. 7/10
Shadow Smile - Signed In Blood (Self Released) [James Jackson]
Upon reading the bio for Shadow Smile I discovered that they’re from Sheffield and apart from being the birth place of Def Leppard and having the UK’s only Lego Cafe, I know very little about the area; well it turns out that most of the Top 65 interesting facts about Sheffield are either about football, steel or how far it is from other parts of the UK.
Far more exciting though, the town does hold the record for the most pancake tossers and the most people playing hopscotch; though unfortunately not at the same time. Oh and a herd of cows escaped a field in 2015 and again in 2019; so it’s no wonder that Shadow Smile are doing their bit to put Sheffield on the map for more creative reasons.
They’re described as playing alternative/modern metal, a blend of old and new pulling influences from modern metal and the classic rock of old and that “classic” influence is most notable in Connor McGovern’s vocal style, especially upon title track Signed In Blood whereas Hellbound Heart leans, at times, towards a more metalcore style and sound. Within each track Shadow Smile bounce from arena rock with sing a long chorus lines into a more in your face approach, channeling the influence of acts like Bring Me The Horizon and Bullet For My Valentine.
There’s a confident competence on display and it’s no wonder that the band has, according to their bio, been going from strength to strength, they’ve opened for Skid Row and been featured upon a multitude of rock based radio stations and programmes. There are a few tracks on the album that are more instrumental and experimental than the rest and the chorus line to final track Suck The World Dry sounds more Steel Panther than it probably should and there may just be a trumpet solo towards the end which only makes it sound more cringey than it really ought to be.
Up until the last song Signed In Blood is a pretty solid piece of metal and rock, Shadow Smile wear their influences on their sleeve and for the most part due them proud. For fans of pretty much anything really, just avoid the last song.7/10.
Robert Jon And The Wreck - Ride Into The Light (Journeyman Records) [Rich Piva]
As I start to grab more albums from genres outside of my usually wheelhouse of doom, stoner and hair bands from the 80s with new albums out now, I am finding I have more questions than answers on some things. For example, what the hell is “Blues Rock” supposed to be these days? I think my definition, or what I want blues rock to be, is different than reality in 2023. I want something filthy.
Shadow Smile - Signed In Blood (Self Released) [James Jackson]
Upon reading the bio for Shadow Smile I discovered that they’re from Sheffield and apart from being the birth place of Def Leppard and having the UK’s only Lego Cafe, I know very little about the area; well it turns out that most of the Top 65 interesting facts about Sheffield are either about football, steel or how far it is from other parts of the UK.
Far more exciting though, the town does hold the record for the most pancake tossers and the most people playing hopscotch; though unfortunately not at the same time. Oh and a herd of cows escaped a field in 2015 and again in 2019; so it’s no wonder that Shadow Smile are doing their bit to put Sheffield on the map for more creative reasons.
They’re described as playing alternative/modern metal, a blend of old and new pulling influences from modern metal and the classic rock of old and that “classic” influence is most notable in Connor McGovern’s vocal style, especially upon title track Signed In Blood whereas Hellbound Heart leans, at times, towards a more metalcore style and sound. Within each track Shadow Smile bounce from arena rock with sing a long chorus lines into a more in your face approach, channeling the influence of acts like Bring Me The Horizon and Bullet For My Valentine.
There’s a confident competence on display and it’s no wonder that the band has, according to their bio, been going from strength to strength, they’ve opened for Skid Row and been featured upon a multitude of rock based radio stations and programmes. There are a few tracks on the album that are more instrumental and experimental than the rest and the chorus line to final track Suck The World Dry sounds more Steel Panther than it probably should and there may just be a trumpet solo towards the end which only makes it sound more cringey than it really ought to be.
Up until the last song Signed In Blood is a pretty solid piece of metal and rock, Shadow Smile wear their influences on their sleeve and for the most part due them proud. For fans of pretty much anything really, just avoid the last song.7/10.
Robert Jon And The Wreck - Ride Into The Light (Journeyman Records) [Rich Piva]
As I start to grab more albums from genres outside of my usually wheelhouse of doom, stoner and hair bands from the 80s with new albums out now, I am finding I have more questions than answers on some things. For example, what the hell is “Blues Rock” supposed to be these days? I think my definition, or what I want blues rock to be, is different than reality in 2023. I want something filthy.
Something that sounds like it’s coming from a dirty, dark bar. Something from someone who has lots of troubles and wants to tell us all about them. The reality is blues rock seems to be more like what we get from the latest album from Robert Jon And The Wreck, which is clean, very slickly produced, and at times sounds more like country rock than blues. What am I missing here, because blues would not be in the top ten categories I would place Ride Into The Light in. OK fine, but is it any good regardless of the genre that is does or should fall into?
Well, if you like your blues rock over produced and with a singer with a very distinct modern country twang, Ride Into The Light may be for you. Unfortunately, it I not for me. I mean I like the riff in the opening track, Pain No More, but I am struggling to find the blues part. Maybe in the solo there is some Stevie Ray love? These guys could very easily open for one of the big county acts on the road today and fit in nicely. Listen to the next track, Who Can You Love and tell me this is not a country song, which is fine, it is just not blues rock.
Well, if you like your blues rock over produced and with a singer with a very distinct modern country twang, Ride Into The Light may be for you. Unfortunately, it I not for me. I mean I like the riff in the opening track, Pain No More, but I am struggling to find the blues part. Maybe in the solo there is some Stevie Ray love? These guys could very easily open for one of the big county acts on the road today and fit in nicely. Listen to the next track, Who Can You Love and tell me this is not a country song, which is fine, it is just not blues rock.
When I say fine, I mean fine for someone who likes modern country, which is not your reviewer. This is mostly my fault, since I went in with a certain idea of what I was getting myself into. Even the title of the next track, Come At Me, sounds like a track for the modern country crowd. The closest we get is Bring Me Back Home Again, which is far and away the best track on this album. I listened to this album four times and each time it more and more felt like these guys should be opening for Morgan Wallen or someone of that ilk, which is not for me.
This all may be my issue, but this was not blues rock. I am still trying to figure out what that means in 2023, but it is not Ride Into The Light. Robert Jon And The Wreck may have a niche somewhere, but to me this is sterile, overproduced heavy modern country that I have zero appetite for. 4/10
This all may be my issue, but this was not blues rock. I am still trying to figure out what that means in 2023, but it is not Ride Into The Light. Robert Jon And The Wreck may have a niche somewhere, but to me this is sterile, overproduced heavy modern country that I have zero appetite for. 4/10
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