Showing posts with label Earth Crisis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Earth Crisis. Show all posts

CD Review: Ringworm – Hammer of the Witch

CD Review: Ringworm – Hammer of the Witch
Relapse Records
All Access Rating: A-

Ringworm - Hammer of the Witch 2014
Batten down the hatches everybody. The Category 5 cyclone of hardcore and metal that is Ringworm's devastating Hammer of the Witch is about to make landfall.

Formed in 1991 in Cleveland, Ohio, Ringworm rose to prominence in a hardcore scene populated by fellow firebrands Terror and Earth Crisis, but they dropped out in 1993, only to rise from the ashes around the turn of the century and wreak sonic havoc on 2001's Victory Records release Birth is Pain and a succession of more audio vitriol.

Now comes Ringworm's roaring, high-velocity debut for Relapse Records, Hammer of the Witch. It's non-stop action from beginning to end, a swarming, all-consuming conflagration of scorched-earth thrash riffage that's diabolically complex and heavy at times.

Surging forward with anger and violence, Hammer of the Witch is Hatebreed on amphetamines, shattering land-speed records on "I Recommend Amputation," "Bleed," the raging "Psychic Vampire" and a blistering "King of Blood." The shouted, in-your-face vocals come courtesy of Human Furnace, while the whiplash breakdowns would draw the attention of a personal-injury lawyer. Hammer of the Witch is as chaotic as a prison break, with searing guitar solos and thickened, intense grooves for those who also appreciate full-throttle speed.
– Peter Lindblad

CD Review: Pro-Pain – The Final Revolution

CD Review: Pro-Pain – The Final Revolution
Steamhammer/SPV
All Access Rating: B+

Pro-Pain - The Final Revolution 2014
Chances are, The Final Revolution will not be televised. Too unflinchingly honest, too hostile and too ugly, the fiery cross-pollination of hardcore and metal that Pro-Pain's been spewing since the early '90s couldn't possibly ever appeal to an anesthetized mainstream that would rather stick its head in the sand and pretend that everything's swell, even as the world devolves into utter chaos.

Maybe it's not as bad as these fearsome New Yorkers, led by firebrand bassist/vocalist Gary Meskil, make it out to be, but there's plenty to be apoplectic about. Pro-Pain's been raging about the socio-political ills that have befallen humanity for a long time now. The Final Revolution is Pro-Pain's 14th studio album, and it is brutally efficient, always going for the throat. 

His guttural voice a flamethrower that leaves behind nothing but scorched earth, the idealistic Meskil barks out his plain, unvarnished truth with all the tenacity of a junkyard dog, sticking up for the beaten-down common man with deep passion and unimpeachable integrity. And the music of Pro-Pain is just as uncompromising, like that of The Exploited or Earth Crisis, although it's a damn sight more metallic.

Relentlessly intense from the word "go," with disciplined grooves and breakdowns, flurries of double kick-drum violence and furious, sometimes down-tuned, riffs, The Final Revolution relies somewhat less on the thrash dynamics of its predecessor, Straight to the Dome, and gets to the point quickly. Aggressive, with rhythms that seem to enjoy slamming into walls, "Deathwish" is followed by another punch to the mouth in the bruising "One Shot, One Kill," and Pro-Pain keeps upping the ante, as the unstoppable momentum of "Southbound" crashes headlong into the high-velocity "Problem-Reaction-Solution," which is just prelude to the even more blistering "All Systems Fail." Immense, permanently stuck in overdrive and more weighty than expected, the all-consuming guitars are predatory and full of piss and vinegar, always wanting to go faster, but content to downshift ever so slightly when a change in direction is necessary.

Going 10 rounds with Pro-Pain is exhausting, a rigorous test of stamina, as Pro-Pain rarely strays from its righteous path, plowing straight ahead with intellectual and instrumental vitality and a visceral energy that is ferocious, raw and dangerous. Pro-Pain may have been a bigger deal in the mid-'90s, when their particular combination of hardcore and metal was being devoured by a wider audience, but they haven't lost any of their vitriolic fervor. It's serious music for serious people.
– Peter Lindblad