The Warriors

See How You Are

Fans of the Warriors' past three albums already knew this band were onto something very special, even at their inception. These California guys effortlessly blend heavy hardcore breakdowns with kinetic grooves (a la Rage Against The Machine) and have one of the best screamy vocalists going in Marshall Lichtenwaldt (who combine the best of Zach de la Rocha's yowls with a New York hardcore-style shout). Really, all the pieces were in place for See How You Are, their fourth and strongest album.

The opening title track sets the angry tone quite nicely, building to a frightening eye-boggle before locking into the album’s first killer groove on “The War Unseen,” like a whirling dervish from the flames of hell-bound youth-crew hardcore (Inside Out, Youth Of Today, Burn, etc.). What’s even more notable, however, is the Warriors’ ability to go where few hardcore bands have treaded. They take a decidedly uniform and one-dimensional genre (youth-crew hardcore ain’t exactly jazz improv) and add textures and layers to their songs that cause triple-takes. For example, on “Where I Stand,” where the first standard hardcore verse leads way into a Gothenburg-inspired thrash lick; “Here We Go Again” sounds like Slipknot by way of Madball. Now circle pit over to your favorite download site and get this.

Victory http://www.victoryrecords.com

“The War Unseen”