(Andy Synn asks for whom the bell tolls… and it turns out it’s for him)
There are lots of different ways we could begin a review of the new Fuming Mouth (which comes out Friday).
We could, of course, talk about frontman Mark Whelan’s diagnosis with, and subsequent recovery from, Acute Myeloid Leukemia and how this has – unsurprisingly – influenced the band’s musical and lyrical approach.
We could also just as easily talk about how divisive the band’s second album, Last Day of Sun was, due to its more Punk/Hardcore influenced approach – though I still think that tracks like “Out of Time”, “The Silence Beyond Life”, and “I’ll Find You” are absolute bangers – and occasional (if not always successful) dash of moody melodic crooning.
But instead I’d like to start off by mentioning the one and only disappointing aspect of the record… which is the underwhelming cover art (which, to be fair, I’m sure must have some deeper significance to the group, but which really doesn’t live up to the high bar set by the eye-catching artwork of Lewandowski and Todorovic that adorned their first two albums, respectively).
Thankfully, however, this is one occasion where you definitely can’t judge the proverbial book by its literal cover.
Some, of course, will insist on referring to The Ringing Bell as a “return to form”… and, to a certain extent they might be right, as the chattering, chugging guitars and colossal, crushing chords of tracks like instant-classic opener “Cheat Death” and brutish, bowel-quaking bludgeon of “After Oblivion” certainly align more closely in form with the darker, deathlier approach of their debut.
In terms of its function, however, the group’s third album still retains much of that punky energy and Hardcore heart – indeed, you get the sense that, much like their close musical cousins in Black Breath, Fuming Mouth will always consider themselves a Hardcore band first, and a Death Metal band second – especially when it comes to the “ominous positivity” of lines like “Lost in dark, instead I found light” (“A Blaze of Nihilism”) and “the only way out is through” (“Finally Fearless”).
But while the punchy, hook-heavy riffs of “Self-Exhumed” and spiky, gang-vocal-inflected stomp ‘n’ groove of the aforementioned “Finally Fearless” could – and should – appeal to anyone (and everyone) who was a fan of the most recent No Cure and 100 Demons albums (which is very much a compliment, whichever way you slice it), there’s also more than enough massive, monstrously-heavy Death Metal present in both tracks (not to mention the likes of catastrophic closer “Respect Mortality”) to hopefully satisfy even the most jaded of genre-purists.
Perhaps the biggest surprise, however (in addition to the unexpected addition of journeyman uber-drummer Jay Weinberg, who handles all the d-beats, blastbeats, grooves and grinds with effortless ease), is just how much dark, moody melody there is here – especially during the record’s second half, where the likes of anthemic, mid-album highlight “Hidden in the Moor” and pounding penultimate powerhouse “Barbarian Scourge” in particular showcase a love of lacerating leads and shredding soloing that’s more Dismember than Merauder – without detracting from the overall intensity of the release as a whole.
True, I’d imagine that the surprisingly sombre, almost Death-Doom adjacent, strains of the title-track – which utilises Whelan’s cleans once more, albeit in a much more concise and effective manner – might be a step too far for some listeners, but to my ears the song works extremely well, in terms of both its placement and its expressive vulnerability, to demonstrate the depth and versatility of the band’s sound… without seeming like a naked attempt to be different simply for the sake of being different.
Ultimately, then, The Ringing Bell is not just a “return to form”, it’s also a defiant statement of resilience and perseverance from a band who, by their own admission, are only just getting started, so it’s perhaps only fitting to leave the final words of this review to Whelan himself, whose climactic declaration on “Hidden in the Moor” so effectively sums up the ethos behind their newest, and arguably best, album:
“You thought I was nothing, you thought that I’d give up, but I’m stronger than ever, I didn’t give up, I’ve only begun...”