Birth Is Pain (Victory)
by Tim Den
It’d be easy to dismiss Ringworm as yet another Cleveland-style metalcore band, but something in the way they revive the lust for early-’90s NYHC says that they’re better than that. Just cuz they use double-bass and chug-a-chugs more than traditional polka beats and pick slides doesn’t mean that they’re as derivative as some of their peers. In fact, the catchy punctuations of vocalist The Human Furnace lead this band into the “I’ve heard it all before… but – hey – this is still bad ass” territory. I can see a massive pit breaking out in front of me right now. Warning: The title track is a complete rip-off of Prong’s “Unconditional.”
(346 N. Justine St., Ste. 504 Chicago, IL 60607)