At first look, many more ignorant readers may overlook the band "From Ashes Rise" due to it's name....which sounds like it would fit right in with the current flood of "screamo/emo/watever" stuff that I (and most of you) are getting oh so sick of. Nonetheless, it is a cool name and that is where any similarities END.

When I put this record in I was hoping for the best and luckily I was pleasantly surprised. In fact, one of the greatest surprises of this quickly closing year. What I hear is like a mix between Discharge and The Hope Conspiracy. The music relies heavily on hardcore and metal influences, but unlike most other bands in this genre there is a very prominent sense of melody and structure to the music. Vocalist Brad Boatright really hits the lyrics hard, with a perfect mix of scream and snarl, while the rest of the band churns out some truely inspired music, not just generic riffs and tired cliches. This is passionate music.

It's very hard for a new hardcore band to catch me and put the hook in, but recently this band...along with The Hope Conspiracy, Converge and the mighty Amen, have restored my faith in the current scene. If you are a fan of hardcore in general you definitely need to check this out.