Hardcore, a genre quite alien to me (aside from liking Hatebreed), that is until Ringworm came along. Hammer of the Witch grabbed me from the first listen of opener’s ‘Dawn of Decay” and “Bleed” which kept me listening straight to album closer “Height of Revelation”.
Like Hatebreed, Ringworm benefit from a production that allows clarity and musical performances to shine through. Both clear but allowing the aggression to shine through. I did ask myself though, Blast beats in Hardcore? They do work. But like I pointed out I’m not acquainted to the genre. The riffs on this album are big and bold as well as some trilled excitement to match the speed in places. “Psychic Vampire” has groove and the aforementioned blast beats. I like the vocal style on this album spat out hatred, shouted vocals that really suit the music. The title track has speed and a groove of a riff in it that demands the listener’s ear whilst being saturated with the human furnaces shouted hatred words.
I don’t know who came first, Hatebreed or Ringworm so I can only say that there are similarities between both bands. The song “One of us is going to have to Die”, has a destroy everything feel/groove to it riff wise which is no bad thing as that is a favourite of mine. The end groove out / slam down riff will be a killer live as it leads into a pick me up and fuck me up end. Let’s not overlook the chug out of “Die like a Pig”, a song which I particularly enjoyed. So Ringworm recommend amputation, I recommend Ringworm. Check them out, I was pleasantly brutalised.
Meathook Mike, HMS
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