The Front : Releases >>
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Flavour Of The Weak >>
With influences spanning from 1980's dark techno to the rapid-fire breakbeat manipulation of the late 1990s, FLA-leader Bill Leeb and his latest partner Chris Peterson execute creative and meticulous noise with energetic precision. The album is a coherent whole, yet extreme sonic and stylistic diversity abounds: every track flows strangely and seamlessly from one intriguing section to another. A kind of industrial hip hop mutates into lush keyboard saturation in "Autoerotic" and "Comatose"; icy techno alternates with synthetic orchestras in "Columbian Necktie." "Evil Playground" is almost two different songs, ominous atmospherics giving rise to an unstoppable rhythm & noise groove. Vocal styles are equally diverse as Leeb's robotic snarl in "Sado-Masochist" and whispered growl in "Life=Leben" effectively contrast with his clean melodic singing of each song's chorus. --Mark McCleerey
Headhunter >>
Warriors >>
Cause For Alarm >>
There was never anything fancy about these New York hardcore pioneers, just the aural equivalent of a swift kick to the nether regions followed by a brass-knuckled rap on the noggin. Then again, that's probably what made Roger Miret & Co. so popular with the testosterone-fueled adolescents that related to the band's might-makes-right approach. The band drew some criticism for its avowedly right-wing political stance--"Shoot His Load" praised subway gunman Bernhard Goetz, while "Public Assistance" knocked those who accepted it--but repeated exposure reveals them to be total misanthropes, rather than antagonists of any specific group. If a feel-good album is what you're looking for, steer clear. But those hankering for a shot of no-frills punk-metal with a side of malice will certainly feel sated. --David Sprague
Riot Riot Upstart >>
Probably the last survivors of New York City's influential early-'80s hardcore scene, Agnostic Front remain true to their roots nearly two decades after their genesis. Riot, Riot Upstart, produced by Rancid's Lars Fredericksen, is as furious (both musically and lyrically) and hard-hitting as anything they've done. Vocalist Roger Miret spits nails in songs of alienation and frustration like "Police State," "Blood, Death, and Taxes," "Frustration," and "Nowhere to Go." His words are defiant and, in classic hardcore form, steeped in anti-authority rhetoric. Riot, Riot Upstart, which knows only two speeds--fast and faster--is a celebration of unbridled anger and aggression that is constructively funneled to a cathartic musical explosion. Seventeen blasts of pure adrenaline-fueled rants in less than a half hour--that's the beautiful economy of real hardcore punk. --Adem Tepedelen
Liberty & Justice For... >>
Dead Yuppies >>
Moments... Limited >>
Geography >>
Moments... >>
