RINGWORM – The Promise LP

Metal and hardcore—two great tastes that sometimes taste great together, but usually not. While Ringworm have gone on to much more metallic leanings since this record came out, this LP still remains one of the best ever examples of hardcore music based around metal riffs. Though it’s not quite as tight as the demo, I still get psyched every time I put this on and hear “There is no God” into that little opening guitar slide. I heard these guys were pretty hammed when they recorded this, which would explain why it’s a little “loose,” but at the same time it adds to the charm. And just for good measure, they decided to add a spot-on Angry Samoans cover, which probably left a lot of people scratching their heads. There’s just something in the water in Cleveland that consistently produces great, but fucked up, punk and hardcore bands.

This is one of those backwards pressing jobs where the color vinyl is actually the more common version. I’ve only ever seen it on black a handful of times, and when I asked a couple of the band members about it, they had never even heard of black copies existing aside from test pressings. I always assumed they pressed some black copies to fill overrun jackets…anyone know for sure?