Premonitions of War

They couldn’t hold down a steady line-up or stay on a label for more than one album if their lives depended on it, but that hasn’t stopped Ohio’s Premonitions of War from becoming one of the best metal/hardcore bands of today. This CD is the debut of new vocalist Nate Johnson and also features Cory Grady from boring buzz band Black Dahlia Murder on drums. Here they re-record their Glorified Dirt EP, originally released in 2000; needless to say the bite is bigger than ever, with these songs sounding every bit as vital as before. Short bursts of fast metallic hardcore, tons of aggression and lots of chaos; it’s amazing these songs manage to hold themselves together, but they do. This disc also contains the original recording of the band’s 2002 album The True Face of Panic. It must be said that it’s all pretty much a blur; are there songs on here or just forgettable bursts of beautiful chaos? The latter, but it rules. Sort of a confusing little stop-gap release, this is a great way to spend half an hour, and it shows, once again, that an upcoming full-length from these guys will be something to behold.