All Out War Assassins In The House Of God

Apparently a decade or so ago, the guys from All Out War made a bet with Ringworm over who could remain the more continually underrated metallic hardcore act, while both toil away thanklessly for Victory Records. Thanks to 2005's fantastic Justice Replaced By Revenge and a handful of higher profile tours, Ringworm is experiencing a bit of a resurgence. Hopefully the same fate will befall All Out War whose first album in four years, Assassins in the House of God, shreds harder than most straight metal records and sounds meaner than Merauder. It's thrashy hardcore that doesn't give a shit about what the last decade has done to the genre that the band helped pioneer. The situation surrounding the band's lineup after Condemned To Suffer might raise some eyebrows, but with early members Jim Antonelli and Erik Carrillo returning, All Out War hasn't lost any continuity from their previous work. The opening reading of John Donne's "Death be not proud" is about as epic as the legendary intro to Iron Maiden's Number of the Beast and while this album definitely doesn't match with that one's greatness, it is a remarkable listen nonetheless. Clocking it at a solid thirty-eight minutes, Assassins in the House of God will definitely be worth the four year wait for fans of the band. As usual, their lyrics provide scathing commentary on religion, society and politics in exactly the way that Slayer wishes they still could. Despite the general populace's increasing social and political awareness, it seems like more metal and hardcore acts are shying away from touching on these issues, but All Out War tackle them with ease and eloquence. It's easy to throw around buzz words and cursing but Mike Score and Erik Carillo's lyrics actually display an understanding of the subject matter. All Out War's music also shows an intense understanding of what they do and what they don't. It's heavy as hell whether the song is moving at a breakneck pace or slowed down to a crawl. Every blastbeat and breakdown is well-placed and precisely performed. For all practical purposes, it's a metal record with hardcore attitude and producer Erin Farley (Merauder, Madball, M.O.D.) has done a great job engineering the album to reflect that. The low end kicks like a Motorhead live show and everything else remains as clear and crisp as possible. This album really represents the band at the top of their game in pretty much every way. Mike Score's vocals could probably use just a bit more versatility for my own personal taste, but his intensity keeps things from ever getting monotonous. It's catchy and memorable without being melodic because the riffs and choruses are just that good. Bottom Line: All Out War have always been a hardcore band that always just seemed happier playing metal and on Assassins in the House of God, they don't pull any punches. This album is definitely worth the four year wait for fans of the band and should add to the band's legacy as one of hardcore's greats, even though they don't really play hardcore.