I love how hardcore bands try to solidify their authenticity by listing the most obscure bands as their influences. I’ve never heard of your influences — guess I’m not that “hardcore” or maybe I’m not as “hardcore” as you are, guys. This is pretty generic stuff: I’m angry, I’m jumping up and down, I shriek and rail my fist to the air, I chop-chop step across the stage, nearly smashing my guitarist in the face, but he doesn’t care, because he just tried to take my eyes out with the tuning pegs on his axe, as the bass player chews his monkey goatee sardonically from the side of the stage. The drummer is oblivious to it all, because, really, it’s all about the music, right? This sounds like the producer forgot to record any of the bass tracks or decided to filter out anything that gives the songs any resonance at all. It reminds me of wind coming through a walkie-talkie. If you know all of your obscure bands, and your record collection is truly dark and mysterious, you will love this disc, but not as much as their old stuff from their old groups, but I won’t tell you the name of that band, because if you were really hardcore, you would already know.

(Organized Crime Records, PO Box 213, Brookfield, IL 60513)