Thrashman’s Metal Pick Of The Week: Ringworm’s “Scars” Makes Me Want To Pick Up Change

I mean it...the new Ringworm album Scars makes me wanna get up and punch my fists at the floor like a friggin' straight edge, hoody sportin', gym short wearin' enthusiast. I've never actually "picked up change" but it looks pretty cool...I'm more of an old school circle-pit-runnin'-into-each-other kinda dude.

Hardcore mosh references aside, Ringworm's latest is another testament to the integrity of a band that continues to spew forth some of the most inspired, venomous hardcore on the planet. I love the musicianship of this band...these aren't a bunch of three chord strumming scrubs that think chugga-chugga is the be all end all of hardcore. Not that I'm any sort of authority on hardcore but I know enough to know hardcore is short for hardcore punk and so much of the stuff today has little in common with the hardcore bands that were around when I was growing up in the 80's.

I love the raw, pissed off nature of Ringworm and I think that is a direct reflection of Human Furnace's vocals...his style is the icing on the cake for me. A vocalist can totally make or break a band and he is the perfect compliment to the excellent musicianship of his bandmates. I'm thinking it's a steady diet of whiskey, fast food and women that have done him wrong that fuels the howls he belts out.

As I mentioned earlier, the musicianship of this band is top-notch. Matt Sorg's ability to write memorable yet caustic metallic-hardcore riffs without recycling is definitely a highlight of the band and Danny Zink's pounding double kick complimented with Mike Lare's bass makes for a tight as hell rhythm section.

Scars is more than a collection of cool tunes...it's an album in which the whole is better than the parts but I'm diggin' the hell out of "To the Grave", "Used Up, Spit Out" and "Angelf**k".

Scars is out now on Victory Records.