Ringworm / Mindsnare

Brief as it is brutal, this Ringworm/Mindsnare split is a series of short blasts, like bursts of machinegun fire. Cleveland, OH-based Ringworm are renowned for the intensity of the aural assaults they wreak upon their audiences. Led by vocalist Human Furnace, their metallic hardcore is delivered with all the subtlety of a grenade launcher. Their two tracks are just over a minute and two-and-a-half minutes, both feeling like you stuck your eardrums in front of a blowtorch. Australia's Mindsnare are certainly not a soft or smooth band, but in comparison, the breaks in their work, the ebb and flow to their songs, become more apparent. "Gather and Decompose" accelerates then slows, going through this cycle several times. Their work emerges ass the twistier when juxtaposed against Ringworm's, the intricate curls more visible.