Originally written by Ramar Pittance
I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there’s something undeniably remarkable about this release. I could give an honest review of Ringworm’s Justice Replaced By Revenge, and easily trick the reader into believing it’s just another hardcore album. Chunky, driving chord progressions, the occasional breakdown, and throaty barked vocals merge to create a product that appears, on paper, to be quite pedestrian. But, there’s a dark undercurrent and genuine rage to be found on Justice that makes it anything but your typical Victory Records release.
The winning qualities of this album are also the most elusive, and that’s what makes this album so rewarding. Throughout Justice there’s a sense that there’s something going on beneath the slightly studied song-structures that’s somehow making the whole experience so much more worthwhile. It’s as if Ringworm unconsciously permeates a vile slithering aura of unease and self loathing that compounds itself by making its origin so difficult to grasp. Regardless, there’s something unmistakably and intangibly creepy going on in each of these songs.
That’s not to say the more appreciable aspects of the album aren’t spectacular. The Human Furnace, offers the most powerful and unrelenting vocal performance I’ve heard all year, with a holler similar in tone, but perhaps an octave lower than a young Thomas Lindberg’s. The riff-work is utilitarian and concise. There’s not a melodic thrash riff or contrived breakdown to be found on the entire album. The former members of Integrity now playing in Ringworm appear to have retained their bloodlust. The voracious riffs of the title track or the beligerant solos of “No One Dies Along” and “No More Heroes” hearken back to a time when hardcore wasn’t so rigidly defined by simple and predictable ingredients, but instead by it’s uncompromising expression of previously inarticulate rage.
I can’t think of a negative word to say. The song’s do tend to run together, making for a block of ferocity that will win over fans of the style and totally alienate all detractors. In that sense, there should be no question who this is for: If you’re looking for something oddly haunting and tirelessly menacing then you need look no further than Ringworm.
