SHORT REVIEWS Our thirty first edition of Short Reviews for 2023 finds us choosing carefully among new releases from the first 2-3 weeks of August. I’ve done my best to showcase the most interesting works that I come across while still presenting some decent variety here but choices boil down to what sticks, what inspires or what is worth writing about. These are more easygoing than longform reviews, so relax and think for yourself — If you find something you dig go tell the band on social media and support them with a purchase! If you’d like your music reviewed, read the FAQ and send promos to: grizzlybutts@hotmail.com

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Though it isn’t the most celebrated release from High on Fire‘s most potent early years ‘The Art of Self Defense‘ is one of my personal favorites from their discography and an important release for 2000 (moreso 2001) as the face of stoner metal, doom metal, and sludge metal continued to warp in new and exciting ways. This is arguably the most doom metal oriented release from the group and one which I remember fondly for its signature sound, a distant and arid sound that was not at all what most Sleep fans had been expecting but certainly a next-level release for its time. The old sound of this album, muddy and spacious still holds up so while I could argue against the necessity of a remix/remaster I’d rather suggest that this particular reissue doesn’t hurt and sounds somewhat different but still great. In terms of updating the album beyond its prior vinyl mastering it isn’t a drastic change but it is an improvement by direct comparison.

The version I am most familiar with, the TeePee Records CD issue with the cover of Celtic Frost‘s “Usurper” included alongside the eagle cover artwork, might still the one that’d sunken into my brainscape all those years ago but I realize this remaster is going to feel like the definitive redux on the beginnings of the band. This latest remix (Billy Anderson), remaster (Justin Weis) and reissue from an ongoing series of vinyl releases for High on Fire per MNRK Heavy (formerly eOne) constitutes a double LP which includes 1999 demo tracks (“Blood From Zion”, “Master of Fists”, “10,000 Years”) and complete instrumental tracks for the full album (for the CD versions) but doesn’t include the cover song, unfortunately. The cover artwork from Jordan Barlow is above and beyond the best yet for the album and more in line with their discography in general.

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Quick to rise beyond their first demo back in January this year Tumulation have already arrived upon their debut full-length statement with ‘Haunted Funeral Creations‘ and the result is pretty well rounded between crusted-over ‘old school’ death/doom metal aggression, a few extended atmospheric stretches and some brief melodically shaped pieces. Thought this side-project from members of Conjureth is sharply considered throughout its ~40 minute run none of the songs stand out as superior or unforgettable in their ride, some great riffs are struck upon in the first half and the production is stylized enough that I recognized their sound beyond the demo though none of it truly sticks beyond the first three or so pieces. For a debut this record is presented in an entirely pro fashion, which I suppose one would expect from this group of musicians but the aesthetics aren’t quite as distinct with a ‘just alright’ AI generated cover art and an uninteresting band logo both giving the album a halfway-there cheapness it didn’t deserve.

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The Circle is a black metal influenced progressive/melodic metal group based out of northwestern Germany which’d been preceded by a different line-up/name (Vagrant) ’til 2020. Featuring current/former live members of bands like Wintersun and Imha Tarikat there is some strong level of popular melodic metal bombast applied to all of their work which is sometimes impressive in scope but less interesting in the statement that develops. Dramatic as the songwriting is here I’d found the vocalist’s main growled/rasped tone grating, repetitive in its diction and less than emotive for my own taste and the effect of the compositions too broadly set and less than thrilling in the moment, building momentum without much of a total payoff. None of this is too much of a shock per the expectations set by their slightly less ambitious 2021 album ‘Momentum‘, in fact it is a much better album/full listen overall but perhaps still not my kind of thing beyond the strong cover art.

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Warmen is a Finnish neoclassical/metal influenced project from former Children of Bodom keyboardist Janne Warman and his brother, guitarist Antii who’ve been at it since 2000 as a side project which’d various explored ideas which were separate but sometimes related to his other band(s) on their first four albums. For this fifth album they’ve added vocalist Petri Lindroos (Ensiferum, ex-Norther) and focused on classic late 90’s/early 2000’s hook-driven, shredding and keyboard boosted Finnish melodic metal rather than the instrumental based approach of past releases which tended towards fun pop-metal cover songs and shredding. All signs point to this being a fun album in most respects but also what some will naturally reach for expecting a reprisal of a certain Children of Bodom-esque feeling but this style is just as well the realm of Norther, Kalmah and a few others and sits even more comfortably in those realms, especially if we consider the ~2000-2004 boon for all involved. I’ve some nostalgia for this style but perhaps the speedier, more aggressive side of certain groups and in this case Warmen take a more laid back, heavy rocking vibe for this album and while it isn’t bad it isn’t necessarily going to keep its hooks in my brain for more than a spin or three.

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Invultation is Columbus, Ohio-based musician Andrew Lampe‘s (The Wakedead Gathering) take on bestial blackened death metal and from my point of view his approach works out well thanks to a long-developed grasp upon death metal proper to start, ensuring his nuanced movement between modes of action always generally hits. If you’re up for a haul of entrenched death metal leaning ‘war’ metal with some unique emphasis on groove most of ‘Feral Legion‘ definitely checks into bigger riffs throughout this ~40 minute album but I’d felt it could’ve been trimmed down to about a half hour and hit a lot harder in the process. The whole thing works for me overall but only because they keep their head down and focus on cutting through an entertaining enough rhythmic thread.

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If you were around and conscious of 90’s hardcore for the entirety of the decade you might recall Ringworm as a mention for a certain scene/edge of the metallic hardcore arena nearby the still yet to solidify notion of metalcore. Per my own memory I’d recall them from reviews where they were likened to Integrity but moreso during the Victory Records years. These fellowes were among many who’d begin to amp up the idea of metal influenced beatdown-heavy hardcore punk which didn’t necessarily fuck with the weirdly alternative rock evolution of crossover thrash as it aged into the early 90’s. The new style aimed at a standard of brutality per the evolution of beatdown hardcore as a default aggression which’d sat nicely next to the metal bands (thrash, groove, death metal etc.) they were likely still playing shows with until the metal and hardcore mindset eventually became more contentious beyond the late 90’s. Anyhow, don’t mind the quasi history lesson but definitely note that Ringworm came from a mindset that blurred the lines between hardcore and extreme metal heaviness. Much like All Out War and Merauder these folks were inspired by thrash as much as they were hardcore punk and never fully relied upon the breakdown heavy moshcore trend of the late 90’s, at least not consistently. Anyhow, they’ve slowly become an institution over the years and now begin to hover ever closer to the ten album club.

Album number nine is verifiably one of Ringworm‘s most briskly aggressive works to date, though I’ve admittedly been out of their loop since 2014’s ‘Hammer of the Witch‘, a pretty well-liked record. This one generally feels meaner, angrier and more straightforward than I’d ever recalled these folks being and thanks in particular to the vocal performances from Human Furnace, who howls a storm around the riffs herein, but also guitar work that calls deeper back into both 90’s hardcore territory for aggression and doesn’t skimp on Ringworm‘s faster death-thrashing side. This makes for a pretty well uninterrupted flood of bigger riffs and throat-cutting shouts which are a thrill to whip through for a half hour at a time, taking me back to my high school years in terms of head-popping idealist hardcore shouting, huge guitar tones. Though a pretty well evolved set of extraneous influences keep things interesting throughout it was the notion that these folks can still tap into a hardcore punk forward directive that’d kept me listening.

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