Ignite

A Place Called Home (2000)

Damien Lynch

Brilliant. I've heard a lot of punk music in my day, but this album is one of the most unique hardcore acts I've heard in a long time.

The lead singer -- Zoltan "Zoli" Teglas has a very beatiful voice (something that isn't always a good thing when it comes to savage punk rock). His vocals are intense, and politically charged - but it isn't the generic "fuck the government" type of politics.

The first song that got me interested in this band was the second track on the album, "Veteran". After the song's guitars rip through the beginning seconds, Zoli begins singing about… what's this, war veterans?

The slavery of poverty…
No one should be hungry in this country…
Enough to feed, to medicate…
To clothe the backs and housing for families…
The cuts in care and medicaid leads me to believe our government just doesn't care.
We send our aid; our misspent funds…
Americans hungry living in the gutter

Ok, so they have my attention and I listen to the entire CD. It's a hardcore mix of songs that you can really tap your foot to. "Who Sold Out Now" is probably the one song on the album that you would expect to hear. Lots of punk bands sing about selling out. However, that's where the similarities end.

Some of the other standout songs are "Run" (an incredibly done song about abuse of children… this one really gets to you as you listen to the lyrics), "A Place Called Home", "By My Side", "In Moderation" (probabaly the fastest song on there - about addiction), "Pieter" (sad as fuck… if you liked Bro Hymn, you'd probabaly like this epic song), and "I'm Bored". The songs I didn't list are still excellent, and I originally listed every single song on the "standout" list.

That's how good this 13 song album really is.

If you'd like a truley awesome hardcore punk rock album that stands out from others (in the sense of vocals, and song lyrics) then this is for you. Recommended. Even some of my friends who don't even like punk music heard this album and fell in love with it. Ignite, right now, is the unknown secret brewing in Southern California. As a bonus track, you get "A Place Called Home" in Zoli's native language. Don't ask me what language that is, either.