The godfathers of New York hardcore return in fine form on album thirteen!
Fans of modern hardcore must surely hope the likes of Turnstile and Knocked Loose age as well as originators like Agnostic Front have. True, ‘Echoes In Eternity’ is very much business as usual for Roger Miret’s crew, but just like their New York veteran brethren Sick Of It All and Cro-Mags, they can always be relied upon to keep the sound and spirit of hardcore’s early days alive.
For the most part, this is lean, mean, old school NYHC, with twists of rock n’ roll and crossover thrash here and there. They set out their stall on explosive opener ‘Way Of War’, which packs punk rock fury, chugging riffs and a squalling solo into less than two minutes. Lyrically, it’s also familiar ground; they tackle betrayal (‘You Say’), reminisce about those early days (recent single ‘Sunday Matinee’) and raise the middle finger to their detractors (the vitriolic ‘Hell To Pay’).
The only real surprise is the appearance of Run DMC’s Darryl McDaniels for a vocal turn on ‘Matter Of Life & Death’. It’s a collaboration that makes sense; after all, the bands share an unfiltered, stripped-down musical approach, and both have a history of portraying the often brutal reality of NYC working-class life. No, it’s not quite ‘Walk This Way’ or ‘Bring The Noise’, but it still hits hard.
At fifteen tracks in just under half an hour, ‘Echoes In Eternity’ certainly doesn’t outstay its welcome. Ultimately, this is Agnostic Front doing what they’ve always done, but they’re still doing it very well, and striking one hell of a blow for hardcore’s old guard into the bargain.
‘Echoes In Eternity’ is out now via Reigning Phoenix Music – order it HERE.
- Way Of War
- You Say
- Matter Of Life & Death
- Tears For Everyone
- Divided
- Sunday Matinee
- I Can’t Win
- Turn Up The Volume
- Art Of Silence
- Shots Fired
- Hell To Pay
- Evolution Of Madness
- Skip The Trial
- Obey
- Eyes Open Wide
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I spend my days teaching English to foreign students, and my evenings attending as many gigs as possible. Raised mainly on a diet of 90s third-wave punk, my tastes have grown to include just about anything from trad ska to thrash metal. The Ramones are my musical gods.
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