The Warriors-War is Hell
(Eulogy Recordings, 2004)

I never in my life would have expected to hear modern hardcore mixed with a Rage Against the Machine influence. But that is exactly what The Warriors bring to the plate with their debut album. The band is heavy with a lot of chugging, but they have a sense of quirkiness and some of the more groove oriented riffs are totally taken straight from Rage Against the Machines debut album. Is it a bad combination? Not on your fucking life. It makes for one of the most interesting hardcore albums in quite sometime.

The production holds this album back just a little bit. The guitar tone is heavy, and everything is mixed rather evenly musically, but the vocals are a little bit out front and have an almost too trebly sound to them. The vocals themselves sound good. The singer has a harsh on the verge of falling apart type of scream and it really works with the music. He also dabbles in a lot of spoken passages, which is where a lot of the RATM influence shows the most.

Some of the more “elite” hardcore types out there might have a problem with the RATM influence, but even without the influence the band plays amazing heavy hardcore with inventive riffs and original breakdowns. Add in the groovy riffs and varied vocals and you have a real winner on your hands. This album would have killed even more with a bit of a smoother production, but this definitely rises above the average production values.

Until the End-The Blind Leading the Lost
(Eulogy Recordings, 2004)

I’ve been a big fan of this band ever since their debut EP on Equal Vision. But let me tell you, this takes that debut and totally rips it to shreds. This is one of the heaviest and most pissed off hardcore albums ever. Sure, they aren’t a very original band, but they play with so much energy that you can’t help but think they are a welcome addition to the hardcore scene.

If you basically want to know what they sound like, they sound a lot like Hatebreed musically. Thick guitar riffs, and more metal then a scrap yard is what you get from these guys. For the most part they play very fast, but they slow things down quite a bit, playing riffs that would no doubt cause a lot of commotion in the pit. Like I mentioned earlier, they aren’t an original band, but the expression “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it“, definitely applies to this band.

The layout of this album definitely has a very original feel. It’s set up like a military magazine or like propaganda of sorts. The artwork is incredibly cool, and the pissed off nature of the band is definitely portrayed in the layout.

Heavy hardcore isn’t as cliche as it once was. Let’s face it when Victory was pumping out the tough guy hardcore everyone aspired to be the heaviest band possible. Now that the glut of bands have moved on to more melodic pastures, the few true warriors of heavy hardcore are left to lead the pack. Until the End is one of those few.

The Ducky Boys-Three Chords and the Truth
(Thorp Records, 2004)

I can’t get over how much the singer in this band sounds like Michael Graves. It’s almost uncanny, and then you add in the bands love for back up melodies and it’s even more evident. Musically though, this is very far from The Misfits. The Ducky Boys play straight forward punk rock that is jangly at times, basic power chords at others, but always energetic, melodic, catchy and ultimately fun.

The band has a bit of the Clash/Rancid influence at times, but they really manage to squeeze originality out of their relatively simple approach. They keep things short and to the point with most of the songs barely making it to the two minute mark. A bit of a jangly oi influence comes in from time to time, but this is best described as punk rock. In a time with so many sub genres, it’s a nice change to hear a band just playing simple, heartfelt music. They aren’t worried about being heavy, or fitting in. They play their songs with passion and really this is one of the few records I’ve heard in a long time that I can call punk in the classic sense of the word.

In a time when cover songs are pretty much all the rage, these guys manage to pull off a passionate take on Stand By Me. They don’t turn it into an all out rager like Pennywise did, it’s actually very close to the original, with of course a dirtier guitar sound. It doesn’t seem tacked on at all, it works within the frame of the album.

If you are sick of all of the metal bands parading as hardcore bands and pop punk parading as punk bands, The Ducky Boys will make you remember what was once so great about punk rock. It wasn’t about fitting in, or having a uniform sound. It was taking those three chords and making something special happen with them. The Ducky Boys do just that with Three Chords and the Truth.

The New Breed-Off the Beaten Path
(Thorp Records, 2004)

I have to be honest, I wasn’t impressed by this bands last album. This album shows the band improving considerably. They haven’t changed the bands core sound, but have just become better at what they do. They still play rock n’ roll infused punk rock. It’s nothing that Social Distortion hasn’t done before, but they manage to play through 13 rollicking tunes and not lose their footing in the process.

Thorp really needs to get this band into a better studio. This album has an energetic and live sound but it is somewhat lacking in tightness. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that it’s entirely the production, but there is a lot of separation in the mix and the drums need to be a bit more out front. There is a definite progression musically here, so hopefully with time they will receive a production that does the band justice.

I think the band needs to tighten up their sound just a tad more still. This is a lot tighter then Port City Rebels, and they are definitely on the right track. They are in a crowded genre, and they really don’t do much to differentiate themselves from most of the other bands. But there’s no denying that these are well written and energetic songs. Sure it’s nothing new, but it’s a damn good listen none the less.

Sick of it All-Outtakes for the Outcast
(Fat Wreck Chords, 2004)

Every band at some point in their careers is bound to release an outtakes album and I guess now is the time for Sick of it All to do just that. They aren’t out of steam just yet though, as their last album was of high quality. This isn’t to tide fans over, it’s to give them an extra bonus. This collects unreleased tracks, compilation tracks, covers and even a remix. It’s a bit disappointing that the unreleased tracks are two live tracks left over from the Live in a Dive sessions, as well as the remix track. It is nice to have all of the b-sides collected though because I’ve never owned a single from this band, so these tracks are all new to my .

The songs of choice for the covers aren’t exactly what you’d expect. They cover two Sham 69 songs, a Husker Du song, a song by the Last Resort, as well as a Misfits tune. They all translate well into the Sick of it All trademark sound, but definitely show the band branching out into more melodic territory.

For fans of the band this is a no brainer, you need to get this. If you have the singles or the compilations that these tracks are mainly pulled from, this isn’t essential, but it would be nice to have all of those hard to find SOIA tracks on one convenient disc.

Arch Enemy-Dead Eyes See No Future
(Century Media, 2004)

I was excited to get a chance to listen to this EP for the Symphony of Destruction cover alone, but as a whole I have to say that this is a bit of a let down. The opening track is from the bands latest album and it’s a solid track, and the following live tracks are pretty cool, showing that the band has no trouble pulling off their brand of melodic death metal live. The problem with this EP lays with the cover songs. The Manowar cover is probably the best out of the three. The Megadeth cover just doesn’t sound right to my ears. They play it a bit too slow and the growling vocals just don’t work for the song in my opinion. One of the best qualities the original had was the vocal lines. The Carcass cover also sounds a bit off to me. It sounds almost too precise. It’s missing that Carcass charm that made them so great. It also makes me wonder why they’d cover Carcass when one of the members used to be in Carcass. So basically this isn’t a mandatory purchase in my opinion. The live tracks are cool and this does feature the video for We Will Rise, but I’m definitely disappointed with the cover tracks.

V/A-This is Solid State Volume 5
(Solid State, 2004)

This latest installment of the Solid State compilation series is worth picking up for the opening track alone. A brand new track from Norma Jean opens the disc and really sets the tone for the rest of the disc. You’ll also find some newer tracks by new bands on the label like Showbread, He is Legend, The Chariot, As Cities Burn and Far-Less. The Chariot is the new band featuring the original singer of Norma Jean, and they are pretty much as noisy and insane as you’d expect. Sort of like Norma Jean, but a lot faster. He is Legend offer an inspired take on metalcore that is much more rocked out then one would expect. The rest of the tunes you may have heard already because well, the bands are pretty much huge. The remaining tracks consist of the heavy hitters on the label, Underoarth, Haste the Day, Demon Hunter, Beloved, Figure Four, Stretch Armstrong, Mewithoutyou, and Emery.