ALBUM REVIEW: Seeing Through Fire – Ringworm
Cleveland, Ohio’s heaviest ever exports, the mighty RINGWORM return in incendiary form with their new album Seeing Through Fire and it sees the band’s explosive mixture of metal and hardcore sound as explosively focussed and passionately delivered as ever.
This is the band’s first album on new label Nuclear Blast and they waste no time in impressing with all eleven fearsome songs on Seeing Through Fire, and it sounds incredible and will get your blood pumping from start to finish.
As soon as the instantly formidable and unforgiving vocals of frontman Human Furnace blast into action (following some brilliant fretwork from guitar player Matt Sorg) on opening salvo of the title track of the album, it opens the floodgates for the chaos that engulfs the album throughout its duration, and the musical chaos certainly isn’t backwards in coming forwards.
Songs on Seeing Through Fire such as Carved In Stone, Thought Crimes, House Of Flies and You Want It To in particular are prime RINGWORM anthems and furiously crackle with a venomous energy but it had to be said that the whole album simply explodes with the true power that RINGWORM are capable of.
Human Furnace is on exemplary form on this album and vocals sound immense all the way though especially on the conclusion of No Solace, No Quarter, No Mercy, where he screams the songs chorus in his own inimitable style and it proves once again that he is one of extreme music’s most intense vocalists.
The rest of the band are on fine form with Matt Sorg and fellow guitarist Mike Lare on particularly while the heavy grooves of bass player Ed Stephens up the energy levels even more, just check out the massive groove of penultimate track Power And Blood for proof.
As Seeing Through Fire ends with the same vivacity as it began with the epic sounding Playing God, a song that shows the power of the band in a different way, it feels nothing but amazing to have RINGWORM back and doing what they do best.
It is telling that the cover art of Seeing Through Fire evokes memories of MOTÖRHEAD artwork as RINGWORM are definitely a band who are as reliable as them when it comes to full on and in your face music. You knew where you were with Lemmy and the boys, and you know where you are with RINGWORM. A pure and undiluted melding of metal and hardcore turned up to the max and as a subtle as a punch in the face.
RINGWORM have never been a band who never give less than 100% passion and energy on their records and this is certainly still the case with Seeing Through Fire. It is amazing to hear a band still giving their all and producing such beautifully heavy music, thirty years after their debut album and long may this continue.
Rating: 8/10
Seeing Through Fire is set for release on August 18th via Nuclear Blast Records.
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