Kev Rowland Any fan of Agnostic Front will look at the front cover of ‘Get Loud!’ and immediately recognise the characters from their 1986 classic ‘Cause For Alarm’, and have an idea of what they are going to find inside. But when a band has been at the forefront of a musical movement for nearly 40 years, with a line-up which has been incredibly consistent in recent times, then everyone should already know what to expect. The godfathers of hardcore are back doing what they do best, mixing hardcore aggression with thrash to create a metallic mosh of sweat and energy. There are 14 songs on the album, which is only 31 minutes long, with only one breaking the three minute barrier yet there is no need for length when it is as powerful as this. Roger Miret has been at the helm since 1982 and he has lost none of his aggression as he has matured, just become more focused.

Miret says, “Something real. I think that’s the secret to our longevity. People see us, and they see something that’s real and genuine, and they want to be a part of that. Who wants to be a part of something that’s fake? If you feel a connection to something and it feels real, you wanna know about it and be a part of it.” This is real, this is hardcore, and to understand what the scene is all about then you need Agnostic Front who show no signs of slowing down yet and are still producing incredibly solid albums indeed.

Kev Rowland Agnostic Front have been licking up a hardcore storm for more than thirty years, mixing in thrash and punk when the mood takes them, and this 2015 album finds them mixing through the styles. The album commences with a great deal of sound clips, and immediately the listener knows that Roger Miret and the boys are going to be out there making a point. Sixteen songs at under thirty minutes in length, the old adage is true that if you don’t like something hang on a minute as there will be something else along in a minute. But, it does make for quite a disjointed album as when they are good, such as on “Test of Time”, they are very good indeed and there are few who can catch them in their hardcore thrash crossover mode. But, the songs such as the title cut have plenty of aggression from the singer, but not really being carried through by the band, and it just doesn’t contain the attack and passion that it should.

More good than bad, does it stand up against classic albums such as ‘Cause For Alarm’? Personally I don’t think so, but anyone who has been flying the hardcore banner for nearly forty years demands respect.

Time Signature Attack!

Genre: NYC hardcore / crossover

Agnostic Front are one of the most important names on the NYC hardcore scene and also played an important role in establishing crossover thrash when they released "Cause for Alarm". Since then, they have made contributions to both scenes, going back and forth between metallic hardcore and more punky hardcore. Their last three albums, however, leaned more towards the metallic side and are probably among my favorite Agnostic Front albums. But now, they are back with a new album entitled 'The American Dream Died'.

This album is decidedly more punk oriented than the preceding albums, but with enough metal elements to still appeal to metalheads. Moreover, this album ups the social criticism in comparison to the preceding album. After an intense introduction that leaves no doubt that Agnostic Front are going to have something to say on this album, the album kicks into the title track, which is an all out hardcore punk attack, and the intensity is turned even more up in the fast and angry 'Police Violence' in which Roger Miret gives vent to his frustrations with the way that the American police treats the nation's own citizens. After two more punky tracks, 'Only in America' and 'Test of Time' bring into the picture thrash metal elements - in particular the latter is a strong crossover thrasher akin to what can be heard on the excellent "Warriors" album. 'We Walk The Line' is a heavier track with elements of noise rock in the form of some dissonant guitar chords on top of the driving bass. After a handful of darker tracks, the listener is treated to a more uplifting affair in the form of the anthemic punk rocker 'Never Walk Alone'. 'Enough Is Enough' is another angry outburst of 40 seconds, which nonetheless includes a proper hardcore breakdown. 'I Can't Relate' follows the same style, and is impressively dynamic considering that it is only 47 seconds long. While primarily punky, 'Old New York' nonetheless brings metallic chucking guitars back into the picture. 'Social Justice' is another crossover thrasher, although not quite as metallic as the band's "Warriors" and "Cause for Alarm" tracks. The following track 'Reasonable Doubt' takes us back into hardcore territory and oozes in-yer-face NYC attitude, and 'No War Fuck You' is a 37-second ragefest, while 'Attack!' is surprisingly uplifting. The metallic 'A Wise Man' nicely combines heaviness, groove, and anger into a mixture that should appeal to both mardcore fans and metalheads.

Production-wise, "The American Dream Died" is well-defined and better balanced than "Warriors", but slightly rougher than "My Life My Way". Still, it has the unmistakable Agnostic Front punch that characterizes "Another Voice", "Warriors", and "My Life My Way". Roger Miret's voice comes across even more expressive on this album than the predecessor (in particular on the retrospective closing track 'Just Like Yesterday'), and the overall performance by the band is tight.

"The American Dream Died" is intense and more hardcore punky than Agnostic Front's last couple of releases, and has fewer uplifting moments than "My Life My Way", but this makes a lot of sense since "The American Dream Died" is more oriented towards social injustice while "My Life My Way" dealt more with lyrical themes of self-confidence, pride, and personal strength. Although I am more of a metalhead than a hardcore punk rocker, I really like the energy that much hardcore music harnesses, and this album is rich in angry energy and, as I said, still feature metallic elements. I think it will definitely appeal to fans of hardcore and crossover thrash. It strikes me as being a damn good NYHC album.

Time Signature The eliminator...

Genre: crossover

After a fully fledged hardcore punk release in "Victim in Pain" from 1984, Agnostic Front started venturing into metal territory on their sophomore full length album "Cause for Alarm".

While, if one conceptualizes the musical style as weight scales, there is more punk weight than metal weight on this album, Agnostic Front have a more metallic sound due to the addition of a second guitarist and the incorporation of thrash metal elements, such as muted guitars in certain places and double bass drums. another element from metal land is the use of frantically shreddy guitar solos, which are very likely to have been inspired by thrash metal acts like Slayer.

The energy and the riffage is mostly hardcore punk, as is the attitude. All the breakdowns are there, but they are typically centered around more metallic sounding riffs. The perspective on performance seems to be that of a metal musician, as the performance and production are marked by the tightness and professionalism of metal musicians at the time rather than the sloppiness and DIY-approach of punk artists.

"Cause for Alarm" should be of interest to those who like both primitive old school thrash metal and hardcore punk (and to fans of crossover metal, of course). In addition, it has a certain historical value, being one of the seminal crossover releases from hardcore punk artists (that's what the additional 0,5 star indicates).

Time Signature Us against the world...

Genre: crossover

Agnostic Front have long explored the worlds of hardcore punk and crossover thrash. This album, I think, is classifiable as crossover thrash although the punk roots are very clear, and there are several songs that are more punk than metal, while others combine hardcore and thrash.

What I like about this album is what I like about a lot of crossover thrash - namely, the blend of punk energy and thrash metal brutality and aggression (and the metal musician's music smith mentality.

Also, the tracks on this album are extremely catchy - both the more punky parts and the more thrashy parts. But by and large, the catchiness is due to Roger Mirets strange but very expressive voice, and his vocal melodies which are simple enough for everyone to sing along.

It is, I must admit, refreshing and reinsuring to know that metalcore and deathcore are not the only genres to combine hardcore punk and heavy metal music, and this album proves that crossover thrash is still alive and kicking.