Originally published in Verbicide issue #4

This style of piercing riffs and deep chord progressions may be old news, but the writing of Russ Rankin rises above what could be just another modern hardcore incarnation. His lyrics are as well written as the best of the genre, and the album resonates with verses like: “Beware the opulence inherent in confusion/when reality is obscured/by clouds of disillusion.” While the sound may have too many “Black Flag moments,” when the band seems to be following an established song pattern the writing, again, makes this an album worth hearing. With genuine social awareness, this album implores us to “hear the cries of the innocent/ring through the air.”

(Fat Wreck Chords, PO Box 192027, San Francisco, CA 94119)