The Warriors Genuine Sense Of Outrage

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Reviewed by: Cory   //   Published: 7/3/2007

Since the release of their very first seven inch a few years back, The Warriors have always been a bit of an oddball act. Their brand of hardcore is more influenced equally by Rage Against The Machine and crossover thrash than youth crew or metallic hardcore. Genuine Sense of Outrage possesses an urgency that their last album did not, combined with a new polish and a level of songwriting beyond anything the band has done previously. Producer Cameron Webb (Social Distortion, Motorhead) was definitely a good fit for the band's rock-edged take on hardcore and makes the transitions between Sick Of It All breakdowns and Slayer riffs seamless. This album is a refreshing synthesis of ideas old and new into something timeless, edgy and (most importantly) extremely listenable.

One of the first impressive things this disc has going for it is guest appearances by Lemmy from Motorhead and Lou from Sick Of It All. In addition to being two amazing endorsements, each legendary frontman turns in an excellent and entirely appropriate performance on songs heavily inspired by their respective bands (and in the case of "The Price of Punishment," Refused as well). You might think these are stunt guest spots and you'd be right, but they're far more enjoyable than similar turns on recent hardcore records. You could say the same thing about pretty much every other aspect of this album as well. The breakdowns are bigger, the riffs are better and the emotion is more palpable.

Perhaps the most exciting thing about Genuine Sense Of Outrage is the sort of disregard for how hardcore songs should be written that recalls the best moments of Shelter's Mantra or Strife's In This Defiance. Everything hasn't been completely thrown out or re-written, but there's a hell of a lot going on in each song that I haven't heard in the last decade. The album harkens back to the days when Vision of Disorder or Biohazard were "hardcore" because of their attitude and approach to music and despite the fact that their music often took them far outside the boundaries of the genre.

If there is an exception to this album's excellence it is in just how carefully everything is put together. The production is slick as hell, each bit of each song flows perfectly into the next and some of the rawness that the band exhibited on their previous records has been replaced here with meticulous performance and placement. In any other style, complaining that an album was too tight might seem like an insane complaint, but this slight lean towards perfection oddly keeps it from reaching that very same goal.

Bottom Line: I'm not sure how this album is going to go over with the band's intended fanbase, but Genuine Sense Of Outrage should definitely broaden The Warriors' appeal to fans of 80's and early 90's hardcore and metal. It's not necessarily a throwback in the strictest sense but it definitely reminded me of hearing some of my favorite hardcore records ever for the very first time. This disc has my vote for best hardcore record of 2007 thus far and I don't see any other releases on the horizon putting up a serious challenge.

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