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Trial By Fire

Ringing In The Dawn (2002)
Jade Tree Records

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Contributed by: Jim Beam
(others by this writer | submit your own)

Published on February 7th 2003

When I looked at all the top ten lists from 2002, this record wasn’t there. It wasn’t even mentioned in any of the posts. It seems that this album has been largely ignored by the punknews community. Hopefully, this review will get the word out about one hell of a record.

Personally, I would certainly put this album in the top ten, probably in the top 5. It is quite possibly one of the best hardcore albums I’ve ever heard. It rages with passion and power, and the intensity from this record can be felt just rushing from the speakers. Produced by Brian McTernan, Trial by Fire’s “Ringing in the Dawn” is stock full of a kind of raw intensity the likes of which I have not heard from a record in some time.

Trial by Fire, a four piece hardcore band from Washington D.C. is able to blend the blistering speed and power of the DC hardcore scene with melodic strands. Sure Jason Yawn yells his way through most of the record and the backup vocals are mostly shouted, but Yawn’s yells and screams have a melodic quality that make it unique and great to listen to. While the lyrics are mostly progressive and liberal in nature, I found myself not really minding because it just sounds so damn good. They’re sung with great passion and fury, portraying the depth of Trial by Fire’s conviction for social reform and progress.

The strength of Ringing in the Dawn is certainly the music – the blistering guitar, the pounding bass, the rapid-fire drums. They all combine to form one of the best hardcore sounds around, a sound that has been crafted to perfection by McTernan. Each song is great in its own right – there is no filler on this 11 song, 25:11 long album. “Ringing in the Dawn” begins with Test Pattern, a powerful, pounding two minute long song that sets the stage for the rest of the album. After Test Pattern, you know you’re in for one hell of a ride. Steps of St. Johns is the highlight of the album for me, featuring a great breakdown section and outstanding vocals. Pilot Light, Vengeance, One Last Gasp, and Process of Elimination are the other outstanding tracks, although one cannot go wrong with any track from the album. Just about every song features a great riff and a unique breakdown that just adds to the depth and strength of the album. They all have the same intensity and power, the same speed and aggression, compacted into a nice 2 minute package that will make you want to get up and break something. They all portray the strong emotion and power that make Trial by Fire so great.

“Ringing in the Dawn” is definitely one of the best albums of 2002. It transcends hardcore, branching into different aspects of music that make it accessible to all fans of punk. This is a must have. Buy Trial by Fire’s “Ringing in the Dawn” immediately, put it in the CD player as soon as you can, and get ready for the pure aggression and power of music at its best.

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deernitsua (March 19, 2007)

i got this cd after listening to the mp3 of 'to whom it may redeem' about 1000 times. the rest of the album is just as good as that song. this is the single most underrated and underappreciated album/band in modern punk.

deernitsua (March 19, 2007)

Anonymous (March 24, 2005)

Great album. Too bad they broke up.

Anonymous (October 25, 2004)

great band, great album... what happened with them??

Anonymous (September 17, 2004)

wow. been awhile since people commented on this. anyways just heard this band they fuckin rock. did they break up?

Anonymous (July 27, 2003)

sweet album i could really get into this i hope to see them live

Anonymous (March 27, 2003)

I think they're breaking up after the Kid Dynamite reunion show. Awesome band awesome record though.

Anonymous (February 10, 2003)

Actually mr. know it all, they have not broken up. They arent playing any shows at the moment, but they are still a band.

Dubar (February 10, 2003)

really? weak. All the good ones do.

Anonymous (February 10, 2003)

just so everyone knows, these guys broke up recently.

Anonymous (February 10, 2003)

made my top 10 fo sho.

FortyMinutesWest (February 10, 2003)

Good album, not the best ever. Still, it rocks pretty damn hard.

Anonymous (February 10, 2003)

Brilliant,i like point an inward finger-oldpunker-

ZLNFTOC (February 9, 2003)

These guys are really intense live and also cool. They ripped when I saw them open for the Circle Jerks.

Anonymous (February 8, 2003)

I saw this band with Strike Anywhere almost a year ago. It was a kickin' show. I don't really hear a Kid Dynamite influence, but I hear an Avail vibe in there.

- green run brad

evildeadalive (February 8, 2003)

This would have made my top ten for sure if I acctually felt like wasting everyones time and posting one.

The_Killings (February 8, 2003)

They're good. I can definately see a deep Kid dynamite influence. I liked Kid dynamite, so I guess I like this stuff too.

Anonymous (February 8, 2003)

This band rips. I saw them here in vancouver a couple of months ago, and they ripped. So therefore I concluded that they rip.

-freedom to oppress

pope_schlomo (February 8, 2003)

Strike Anywhere still takes top honors of hardcore band On Jade Tree (present). But this one is still good.

Ramo

Brett1978 (February 7, 2003)

Great album...If you don't have it, get it.

Anonymous (February 7, 2003)

pastepunk and punkrocks.net were both raving about this one. It reminds me of Strike Anywhere, which is a good thing.

Anonymous (February 7, 2003)

"No one is safe when there's money to be made"

One of the better lines in recent hardcore. Too bad these guys were really bland live. In their defense, at least they weren't generic skinny kid hardcore (their singer was way fat--awesome). There's too many Locust wannabees these days.

--Cos

Anonymous (February 7, 2003)

Is the reviewer a conservative?

Anonymous (February 7, 2003)

holy shit these guys rip. i saw them last year with soia and they were hardcore badasses to the bone. get this cd.

Kurt_F (February 7, 2003)

Oh man, I am SO glad this got the review it deserved. This is one of my favorite albums ever, and Steps of St. Johns is one of my favorite songs ever. I love this band. Another reason why Jade Tree is the best label out there, with Polyvinyl as a close second. Boo yea.

If you haven't heard this band, go to jadetree.com and get two of thier songs off the audio section.

maverick (February 7, 2003)

This is a pretty good album.

-Scott

fallingtopieces (February 7, 2003)

I downloaded some songs by these guys and it turned out that they were actually mp3's by Journey from their album called "Trial By Fire" so to me these guys sound like Journey

homie (February 7, 2003)

This album was definitely in my top ten for 2002. Excellent stuff.

Anonymous (February 7, 2003)

this is a great album. to me, it sounds like an amalgamation of kid dynamite and strike anywhere, which is an owning combination if you ask me.

Anonymous (February 7, 2003)

These guys are 100X better than any of the crap you listen to.

-sickboi