This album came out of nowhere for me. After looking through the pile of CDs I had to review, they were one in the pile of "bands that I hadn't heard of," which is a pile that should really get more attention than it tends to, this being a reason why.

Memorial is Officer Jones' first album, but their sound is huge and polished in a way that one would expect a band of long-standing to be. It's full of heavy, punishing hardcore with just enough metal to take it far enough without losing my attention. They cite (well, not really) Botch and Dillinger Escape Plan in their work rather than Atreyu or From Autumn to Ashes. I don't say this to dis the latter bands (although give me the time and I'll dis them plenty); I say this to affirm that Officer Jones doesn't sound like a product of hardcore circa 2005. They sound like the bands that were breaking the ground in the scene and allowed it to explode, and they do it with the genuine and passionate delivery that made their predecessors accessible to a mainstream audience.

Every song on Memorial is a brutal ride through heavy, strained lyrics, brutal breakdowns, and intricate guitar-work. The band establishes atmosphere from the start with their introduction and go back to it periodically throughout the album, offering listeners a sense of continuity that can sometimes be lost on hardcore albums. The songs are no doubt technical, but there's enough melody buried beneath the aural insanity to keep this reviewer hooked.

If Officer Jones keeps up with what they've done on their first effort, they stand to become one of the best hardcore bands of our day. Memorial is the freshest hardcore album I've heard in a long time and truly deserves to be called epic.

Go buy this album.