Agnostic Front

Agnostic Front: Another VoiceAnother Voice (2005)
Nuclear Blast

Reviewer Rating: 3.5

User Rating:

Contributed by: FortyMinutesWestFortyMinutesWest
(others by this writer | submit your own)
Published on January 25th 2005Stigma! Yeah, you know were thinking it. Here we are in 2005, and Agnostic Front is still going. Despite label changes, lineup shifts, and a changing music landscape, the band has managed to stick around. With Another Voice we find the band leaving Epitaph and showing up on Nuclear Blast, a label.

Stigma!

Yeah, you know were thinking it. Here we are in 2005, and Agnostic Front is still going. Despite label changes, lineup shifts, and a changing music landscape, the band has managed to stick around. With Another Voice we find the band leaving Epitaph and showing up on Nuclear Blast, a label more famous for releasing stuff from bands like In Flames and Dimmu Borgir. They also released a couple things from Death, but I'm getting off track here. It caught some people off-guard, and had a few people whining about a metal label picking up a hardcore band, but I digress.

Another Voice features a heavier, more metallic sound than the band had on their Epitaph release; this, of course, can be partly owed to the production of Jamey Jasta and Zeuss. While their last few releases featured sing-a-longs, Another Voice features some absolutely crushing moments that had been absent. There are moments on here that will have some of the modern metalcore bands weeping in the corner; this stuff is genuinely vicious. When these songs get heavy, they get heavy; the intended impact is never lost on the listener. However, if this album has a drawback, it's the fact that the songs tend to blend together. None of the tracks really change the pace; they all take the same route. It's a hell of a route to take, but it gets a little tired after a bunch of listens.

Still, Another Voice is a strong record that shows that this band still has plenty of fire. I'm not sure how this will be received by the people who were expecting something in the vein of their past releases on Epitaph, but I enjoyed it. It's not what I expected, really, but it's a strong release, especially for a band that has been around so long.

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Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not respon sible for them in any way. Seriously.

rinjonjori (November 28, 2006)

I would say this is a return to their Combat/ Combat Core days and is in direct reference to the Album One Voice.

greenwolfman (January 30, 2005)

This album sounds like Hatebreed doing AF. I am just not that impressed with how it turned out. I realize bands must grow and change with the times, but this album seems to be more of a band wagon hopping than growing.

Anonymous (January 29, 2005)

woooahhh this is my first chance to post about it..but the other night i saw an AF video on mtv2. it looked weird seeing agnostic front and MTV on the same...anything

Anonymous (January 28, 2005)

Will someone just put out 'Victim in Pain" already?

Anonymous (January 28, 2005)

on another note....its not hard to understand why the lyrics may have (at the time) been taken seriously.....I mean, there were (and still are) people who think Black Flag's "White Minority" is racist lol. Yeah- there are a lot of stupid people in the world.....i caught some skinheads talking about it over at some lame ass message board, that and how Glenn Danzig is a "nazi" lol. Some people to get informatiuon before they make claims.

BrandonSideleau (January 28, 2005)

maybe I'm wrong.....but didnt lee ving produce the first Angry Samoans record...and isn't their singer openly homosexual?

Anonymous (January 27, 2005)

I think it's nuts that you guys even consider his lyrics to be anything other than jokes... Seriously, this band was loved by all sorts of people. I can see boneheads getting attatched, but wasn't that the case with any hardcore band at one point?

'Foreign Policy' has some great lyrics:

"Hatred is purity
Weakness is disease"

I don't know, I think they were proooobably just trying to piss people off.

-BSD

lushj (January 27, 2005)

"They did actually hire a black drummer, but that was when they were dabbling in ska as a joke."

Look, you may be right about Lee's right-wing views, but that drummer was with them for years and years in the 90s. You kind of lost me with that ska thing. What and when are you talking about? Is there some Fear ska song from that decade that I'm forgetting about? And the fact that the guy was on a bunch of recordings and tours kind of shows he was part of the band, and not some token.

joeg (January 27, 2005)

yea, i still like the 1st record. but lee is an asshole.

Anonymous (January 27, 2005)

"Probably a little bit of both. FEAR was defintely a joke band ala guttermouth except more explicit and right wing with all the sexist and homophobic lyrics. From what I've heard, the whole thing was an act. Lee decided to get into punk rock because he wanted to make money but that obviously didn't work out like he planned. Regardless of whether he was truly racist or not, he was an asshole for all intents and purposes. He treated his bandmates like shit and well, he ended up in movies like Flashdance. I heard they once tried to hire a black drummer (correct me if i'm wrong?). I don't know about playing for a KKK party but they did attract a lot of nazis to their shows."

I don't know if FEAR really did play at a KKK party, but I wouldn't be surprised if they did. They are quite sexist and homophobic. They think George Bush is a great president and that they war in Iraq is justified. They did actually hire a black drummer, but that was when they were dabbling in ska as a joke. Also, he is a popmpous ass.

Anonymous (January 26, 2005)

BOOOO I have always hated this band and punk rock in general go find a music teacher bitches!!!

Anonymous (January 26, 2005)

since when does being a skinhead have anything to do with having your head up your ass?

lushj (January 26, 2005)

Re: Fear- they hung out with a lot of bikers. Many of the radio shows that are bootlegged feature Lee giving a shout-out to various MC chapters. The last version of Fear (and Lee Ving's Army) that I saw had a latino and an african-american in it. They're both on the last studio record "American Beer" too.

Klan rally? Probably not. Biker rally? You bet.

Anonymous (January 26, 2005)

I enjoy this type of metallic hardcore more than the "Cha Cha Chariot tight pants white belts" type

Anonymous (January 26, 2005)

fuck yea, to the sixth posters below me

hatbreed would be more macho than hatebreed

joeg (January 25, 2005)

"Speaking of sarcasm and misunderstood lyrics....maybe somebody can help me out....is the infamous FEAR a joke? Or is Lee Ving really a redneck peice of shit? Just curious. One person told me they were mocking it, but another told me they played at a (!) kkk meeting....sounds pretty fucked to me."

Probably a little bit of both. FEAR was defintely a joke band ala guttermouth except more explicit and right wing with all the sexist and homophobic lyrics. From what I've heard, the whole thing was an act. Lee decided to get into punk rock because he wanted to make money but that obviously didn't work out like he planned. Regardless of whether he was truly racist or not, he was an asshole for all intents and purposes. He treated his bandmates like shit and well, he ended up in movies like Flashdance. I heard they once tried to hire a black drummer (correct me if i'm wrong?). I don't know about playing for a KKK party but they did attract a lot of nazis to their shows.

Anonymous (January 25, 2005)

this album is terrible

BrandonSideleau (January 25, 2005)

Speaking of sarcasm and misunderstood lyrics....maybe somebody can help me out....is the infamous FEAR a joke? Or is Lee Ving really a redneck peice of shit? Just curious. One person told me they were mocking it, but another told me they played at a (!) kkk meeting....sounds pretty fucked to me.

Anonymous (January 25, 2005)

BSD something tells me they wouldn't have any xenophobic lyrics that aren't toungue in cheek roger the singer isn't an american citizen.

Anonymous (January 25, 2005)

i would say that their album are nothing exeptional and usaully only have a few really good song but man they have a fuckin tight live show

Anonymous (January 25, 2005)

"but didn't AF go from being a conservative, right wing skinhead band in the early 80's to being a leftist hardcore band in the 90's"

One of their songs on their second album had what many thought were xenophobic lyrics... It could have been sarcasm, though... Who knows? It's 80's hardcore...

-BSD

Anonymous (January 25, 2005)

Holy shit! Didn't know Nuclear Blast was still putting stuff out. The last think I bought bearing that label was some Swedish D-beat from the early 90's. Now they are putting this out? Weird.

-Ken

ThriveToFailure (January 25, 2005)

"i heard this one sounds like hatbreed"

Best unintentional re-naming of a band I've heard all day.

OK... I like 'Something's Gotta Give' - will I like this?

FortyMinutesWest (January 25, 2005)

Alright:

The first track starts out with Roger screaming, before the music itself picks up with some catchy gang vocals. It's fairly evident right off the bat that this album isn't going to be like their Epitaph stuff. While this track is heavy, the mosh oriented stuff doesn't really pick up until the start of the second track, "All Not Forgotten." Be sure to listen for Roger to yell "all is not forgiven," because it sounds like he's sneezing.

"Pride, Faith, Respect" is a little stereotypical for my tastes, it's not a terrible song by any means, but it's probably my least favorite on here. So many bands have to have the "this is what he stand for" song, and this track fills that role. I'd say "Peace" is probably my favorite track, it has a nice little solo, but it's devoid of "Stigma!"

It doesn't sound like Hatebreed, it's still undeniably AF. They've done heavy stuff before, this kind of goes back to that. It doesn't have the catchy quality that their Epitaph stuff had, but it's still a quality record.

Strongest tracks: Peace, Hardcore! (The Definition), Still Here
Weakest: Pride, Faith, Respect

skankin_in_the_pit (January 25, 2005)

I can understand some of the criticism this band is and will get for the changes, but you can't argue that this record is fucking killer. You can say they are jumping back on the metallic hardcore bandwagon and still dig the music. Most people don't get that.

BrandonSideleau (January 25, 2005)

how bout some song descriptions there forty

FortyMinutesWest (January 25, 2005)

"Is this kind of like their turn to metal core in 91? Wasn't that "One Voice" and "Last Warning"? Before they came back with the insanely catchy "Something's Gotta Give"? It's deja vu, all over again!"

Yeah, but this has more modern touches.

Anonymous (January 25, 2005)

Maybe I heard this from an unreliable source.....but didn't AF go from being a conservative, right wing skinhead band in the early 80's to being a leftist hardcore band in the 90's? Don't flame me, I'm just curious what the deal is....did Roger finally get his brain out of his ass or something? Or is none of this true?

Anonymous (January 25, 2005)

Old AF rules (up to and including "Something's Gotta Give"), new AF kinda doesn't, it's quite sad really. Still I recommend you pick up the Disasters latest if you haven't already.

Joe

Anonymous (January 25, 2005)

i heard this one sounds like hatbreed, oh well i guess. hopefully they will do another disasters record. the first one was amazing, and i almost always hate street punk

Anonymous (January 25, 2005)

rick ta life ripped of rogers voice.

but this is a great sequel to one voice.

Anonymous (January 25, 2005)

We need the af of '86 back-oldpunker-

bizzlebrizzle (January 25, 2005)

So they sound like Hatebreed now right?

lushj (January 25, 2005)

Is this kind of like their turn to metal core in 91? Wasn't that "One Voice" and "Last Warning"? Before they came back with the insanely catchy "Something's Gotta Give"? It's deja vu, all over again!

Anonymous (January 25, 2005)

I like this. I dont like bands with white belts and tight pants

Psychoos231 (January 25, 2005)

Good one . STIGMA!

joeg (January 25, 2005)

As much as I respect AF for the stuff they did early in their career, I gotta say these guys haven't put anything out in awhile that interests me. Still good live though.

Anonymous (January 25, 2005)

rogers voice sounds really forced on this record, with a result thats a little too similar to rick ta life's voice.

these sounds sound fucking killer live though.

Anonymous (January 25, 2005)

Time and lineup/label/sound changes make bands sound so tired.....especially this one. Least thats how i feel. Nothing agianst them, it just sounds like they dont know what to do with themselves anymore.

-!Greenvandal!