After Last Day of Sun and Mark Whelan’s defeated cancer, Fuming Mouth return with Jay Weinberg (ex-Slipknot) behind the kit and a record that splits the critics in two: 70/100 across 2 reviews for The Ringing Bell. Kerrang! (4/5) hears « yet another rock solid chapter in the life and times of Fuming Mouth »; Angry Metal Guy (3.0) calls it « disappointingly shallow » next to its predecessor. The public leans Kerrang!’s way: 77/100 across 133 votes.
On sheer impact, nobody argues. Chunky grooves, cragged riffs, excellent production, and a transfigured Whelan: Kerrang! states « the frontman has never sounded better », between crushing gutturals and raw screams, with hammer-hooks — the « never sleep » refrain of « Vivid Revelations », the « respect mortality » calls — worthy of Pantera-grade impact.
The disagreement is about what the band left behind. Where Last Day of Sun meditated on survival, AMG hears a « bludgeoning, neanderthal club »: « gone is much of the creativity, replaced by simplified lyrics ». Cathartic brutality for some, regression for others — 7.0, and a public that has already picked its side: the pit’s.