Honestly this Brooklyn based powerhouse hardcore band should need no introduction and if they and their type of music has never done it for you, feel free to skip along and get the hell out of dodgetown, ain’t nothing new here for you. Those of you who have over the years been into the group, stick around as their first new studio album since 2005 release ‘Means To An End’ and their ninth in total has plenty about it that walks the talk and delivers some new classic songs in that old Hazard mode. The group recently had their twentieth anniversary shows and founding member Evan Seinfeld took time out from his porn career to rejoin previous long serving lifers of the band Billy, Danny and Bobby. He stuck around for some shows and it would seem the recording of this album before leaving the group as a trio again. Oh well if you cannot get enough of the man there is always his new band Attika7, his films as Spyder Jonez or just revisit his best role as Jaz Hoyt in Oz.
So if you grew up with seminal albums like ‘Urban Discipline’ and ‘State Of The World Address’ are Biohazard still relevant and worthy of being part of your life? One spin of this disc had me getting my thug on in style, so I can only say that the answer to that particular question is Fucking A! After a quick intro the balls laden swagger of ‘Vengeance Is Mine’ (a hardcore title and a half) makes it clear that this is going to give you a damn good punishing work out. Danny Schuler thuds away, guitars spiral out the speakers as solos are flung out, the bass grooves and trembles and the thug laden vocals give you a lesson in violence and retribution that honestly are not to be fucked with. It’s all laid down in just under 3 ½ perfect minutes. It’s a bit of an about turn on next song ‘Decay’ as it is full of those clean harmonic hardcore vocals that have you hopelessly joining in and singing along with them. It’s a song about nasty things, well it is called decay and police sirens and radios can be heard in the background but it’s all delivered in such a jubilant fashion it is difficult not to be moved and find yourself pumping fists along as the gang vocals chant in.
The songs keep coming thick and fast, the album drops 12 bomb shells in all to accompany that intro and each of them has substance and definition making it difficult to find anything in the way of filler over the albums 50 plus minute running time. The one exception to this could be ‘You Were Wrong’ the albums longest track which could be considered a tad too croon laden and self indulgent for all tastes. There is a good balance of anthemic sing along numbers such as the almost ballad etched ‘Killing Me’ as well as the more in your face tough guy chest beating numbers like ‘Skullcrusher’ that are always guaranteed to get any pit fired up and ugly. If you are looking for a bit of a vocal rap along, don’t worry you will find that too gang warfare mode on ‘Countdown Doom.’ Biohazard still manage the old trick of giving you a bloody good song that you think cannot be bettered and then generally bettering it on the next one.
Having given ‘Reborn In Defiance’ plenty of spins since I got hold of it I have to admit that I am somewhat addicted to the album. It went out on a list to all our writers for coverage and I am really glad none of them stepped up to the mantle and chose to review it. Biohazard are one band who ‘Never Give In;’ hell they even called one of the album’s best tracks just that and it’s just as well they haven’t. This ones a keeper for 2012!
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Pete Woods
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