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All the same, I found 'Warriors' to be a largely disappointing, or at best entirely bland experience, lacking the intensity that I can just about stomach from their contemporaries such as Sick of it All, and still apparently trying to earn fans from the metal world by incorporating a more ... Read review
Advantages: Punk roots still hold their own. Disadvantages: Lacks any kind of originality or self-worth.
The most recent album from New York hardcore punks Agnostic Front continues to mix angry punk rock with shouty hardcore, and as but one of a seemingly endless number of similar-sounding albums having been released every year for the last couple of decades, it brings nothing new to the scene apart from some new material of Agnostic Front sounding like themselves. The whole album is based on fast, riff-heavy songs with multiple, moshable 'breakdowns' ... ...bass drums in a clicking frenzy that again permits the drummer to avoid having to put any thought into what he's doing. But of course, this is still punk first and foremost; a genre that has no delusions of Rimsky-Korsakov.
All the same, I found 'Warriors' to be a largely disappointing, or at best entirely bland experience, lacking the intensity that I can just about stomach from their contemporaries such as Sick of it All, and still ... more
The most recent album from New York hardcore punks Agnostic Front continues to mix angry punk rock with shouty hardcore, and as but one of a seemingly endless number of similar-sounding albums having been released every year for the last couple of decades, it brings nothing new to the scene apart from some new material of Agnostic Front sounding like themselves. The whole album is based on fast, riff-heavy songs with multiple, moshable 'breakdowns' as a substitution for musical diversity, backed by relentless double bass drums in a clicking frenzy that again permits the drummer to avoid having to put any thought into what he's doing. But of course, this is still punk first and foremost; a genre that has no delusions of Rimsky-Korsakov.
All the same, I found 'Warriors' to be a largely disappointing, or at best entirely bland experience, lacking the intensity that I can just about stomach from their contemporaries such as Sick of it All, and still apparently trying to earn fans from the metal world by incorporating a more 'metalcore' sound into their hardcore, extending to adding a few fairly decent guitar solos and making the guitars sound a little fiercer than the punk standard. This didn't do anything for me, naturally as someone who loathes all these modern corruptions of metal, though I did quite enjoy the traditional heavy metal style chorus of the title song, so I guess I'm as easily won over as anyone else (but by far stupider things). I'm far more interested in the band sticking to their punk roots, and this generally makes for the better songs, particularly 'Black and Blue' and 'For My Family,' the latter being about as close to a love song as punk should ever be allowed to get, as a brotherly tribute to the band's closest friends and community spirit. But still shouted and bitter, obviously.
Roger Miret's hardcore yell is enough to put me off ever listening to this band again, threatening to mellow out as late as the eleventh song, but still not quite getting there. I've never been a fan of this confrontational vocal style (makes you wonder why I listen to this genre at all really), and although the rest of the instruments are a little better than the average for punk, it's all but expected for such a relatively high profile band. There's plenty of swearing and aggro, balanced out by occasional positive feelings to prove that the band is still human, though to be honest the self-explanatory 'Forgive Me Mother' is a little cringe-worthy in its sentiment, and it's hard to take Miret completely seriously as he adopts this kindly woman's persona and yells what he imagines she might be thinking. Although I seem to be opposed to the lead vocalist's needless yells, I conversely really enjoy the unison yelling of the band in the punk choruses. And as for the ridiculous macho aggression cover, it at least gives a fair indication of what to expect from the album - and, presumably, any accompanying live shows.
It's my own fault for listening to all music with preconceptions that it should be a little varied or original in order to entertain me, but 'Warriors' feels completely like a simple clone of every other hardcore punk album in existence. There are a couple of nice touches that keep it from being pointless, namely the slower and more thoughtful songs such as 'We Want the Truth' and 'Come Alive,' and the slightly free-form 'By My Side' until it lets rip with another round of breakdowns, but there's no way this could make it to the essential purchases list of anyone but a dedicated Agnostic Front fan who refused to open their mind and listen to the much better versions of the same thing being produced elsewhere. The songs are all insubstantial, being too short to be of much worth but thankfully not so long that they become annoying in of themselves, and on the whole it's quite a confusing release from Nuclear Blast, who routinely specialise in Scandinavian extreme metal.
If you're an old-time punk who's interested in seeing how your favourite genre has been corrupted by today's angry acts, this is as good a place as any. Unless of course you want to be really sickened, in which case I point you in the happy-crappy direction of Blink-182 and their ilk.
1. Addiction 2. Dead to Me 3. Outraged 4. Warriors 5. Black and Blue 6. Change Your Ways 7. For My Family 8. No Regrets 9. Revenge 10. We Want the Truth 11. By My Side 12. Come Alive 13. All These Years 14. Forgive Me Mother 15. Break the Chains
Product Information for "Warriors - Agnostic Front" »
Product details
Title
Warriors
Performer
Agnostic Front
Genre
Hardcore & Punk
Release Date
12/11/2007
Original Release Year
2007
Label / Distributor
Nuclear Blast / Plastic Head
Pieces in Set
1
Studio / Live
Studio
Stereo
Stereo
Format
Performer
EAN
727361193126
Additional notes
Album Notes
Agnostic Front has been the face of New York City hardcore since the days when Alphabet City was unsafe after dark. Now that the average East Village resident is more likely to grab some brunch with a friend on Sunday morning instead of nursing a stab wound, it's easy to forget the power and desperation behind Agnostic Front's prime material. They aim to remind the world with their new album, WARRIORS, as tough a slab of old-school hardcore as you're likely to hear anytime soon. Singer Roger Miret tears into the tales of perseverance, unity, betrayal, crime, and suffering that have long made up the bulk of the Front's lyrical fixations with his choked, vicious bark while the music thrashes about like boot-clad feet. Songs like "Dead to Me" hit like broken masonry while "For My Family" looks back with fondness and respect at New York's hardcore community. The real thing is still available for anyone who doesn't think they can get pure hardcore anymore.
Album Reviews
Kerrang (Magazine) (p.61) - "[C]rushing, crossover riffs, raging gang vocals and convulsive, circle-pit-inducing rhythms."
Titles on disc 1
1.
Addiction
2.
Untitled Track 1
3.
Untitled Track 2
4.
Untitled Track 3
5.
Untitled Track 5
6.
Untitled Track 6
7.
Untitled Track 7
8.
Dead To Me
9.
Untitled Track 9
10.
Untitled Track 10
11.
Untitled Track 11
12.
Untitled Track 12
13.
Untitled Track 13
14.
Untitled Track 14
15.
Outrage
16.
Untitled Track 16
17.
Untitled Track 17
18.
Untitled Track 18
19.
Untitled Track 19
20.
Untitled Track 20
21.
Untitled Track 21
22.
Warriors
23.
Untitled Track 23
24.
Untitled Track 24
25.
Untitled Track 25
26.
Untitled Track 26
27.
Untitled Track 27
28.
Untitled Track 28
29.
Black And Blue
30.
Untitled Track 30
31.
Untitled Track 31
32.
Untitled Track 32
33.
Untitled Track 33
34.
Untitled Track 34
35.
Untitled Track 35
36.
Change Your Ways
37.
Untitled Track 37
38.
Untitled Track 38
39.
Untitled Track 39
40.
Untitled Track 40
41.
Untitled Track 41
42.
Untitled Track 42
43.
For My Family
44.
Untitled Track 44
45.
Untitled Track 45
46.
Untitled Track 46
47.
Untitled Track 47
48.
Untitled Track 48
49.
Untitled Track 49
50.
No Regrets
51.
Untitled Track 51
52.
Untitled Track 52
53.
Untitled Track 53
54.
Untitled Track 54
55.
Untitled Track 55
56.
Untitled Track 56
57.
Revenge
58.
Untitled Track 58
59.
Untitled Track 59
60.
Untitled Track 60
61.
Untitled Track 61
62.
Untitled Track 62
63.
Untitled Track 63
64.
We Want the Truth
65.
Untitled Track 65
66.
Untitled Track 66
67.
Untitled Track 67
68.
Untitled Track 68
69.
Untitled Track 69
70.
Untitled Track 70
71.
By My Side
72.
Untitled Track 72
73.
Untitled Track 73
74.
Untitled Track 74
75.
Untitled Track 75
76.
Untitled Track 76
77.
Untitled Track 77
78.
Come Alive
79.
Untitled Track 79
80.
Untitled Track 80
81.
Untitled Track 81
82.
Untitled Track 82
83.
Untitled Track 83
84.
Untitled Track 84
85.
Untitled Track 85
86.
All These Years
87.
Untitled Track 87
88.
Untitled Track 88
89.
Untitled Track 89
90.
Untitled Track 90
91.
Untitled Track 91
92.
Untitled Track 92
93.
Untitled Track 93
94.
Forgive Me Mother
95.
Untitled Track 95
96.
Untitled Track 96
97.
Untitled Track 97
98.
Untitled Track 98
99.
Untitled Track 99
Ciao
Listed on Ciao since
20/11/2007
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