Aversion Online 'UNBOWED' Review Damn if "Unbowed" isn't one of the best Surprise Attack releases to date, and it happens to be the US pressing of the first "full-length" offering (though it's only about 25 minutes long) from UK hardcore act The Break In. I honestly don't seem to hear all that much of this particular style from the UK, but whatever the case this is pretty furious metallic hardcore that takes the standard foundation of chunky power chords and moderately fast tempos littered with thick midpaced breakdowns and then tosses in some odd dissonant riffs that add an extra tinge of metal while also keeping things from sounding totally standard on a musical level. They also go with a nastier than average guitar tone that's got a dirty yet efficient texture to it, which actually works quite well against the over the top intensity of the vocal performance which actually adds a rather Ringworm-esque touch to the material, so it should appeal to fans of that whole niche. Something about the busy textures of the layout printed on matte stock with differing shades of brown ink catches my eye for whatever reason as well, so this is good stuff across the board. It's a relatively straightforward attack when all is said and done, and definitely an aggressive fuckin' release, so I'll look forward to hearing more from these cats at some point. The label's selling copies of this thing for an inconceivably cheap $5 apiece, so if you dig the tunes you'd have to be an idiot not to buy it straight from them not to mention you're a seriously cheap motherfucker if you pass on picking it up for such a cheap price @ Surprise Attack Records.

Terrorizer 'UNBOWED' Review (Feb 06)  Even though metalcore has intoxicated so many fledgling acts since Canterburys The Break In released the This Ends With Us MCD in 2004, the quintet have, quite refreshingly, eschewed any addition of harmonised riffs, melodic choruses and beatdowns on this debut full length. Focusing instead on making each one of Unboweds 26 minutes a rabbit-punch to the teeth. TBI offer up a direct dose of fury in the vein of Earth Crisis masterpiece Gomorrah Season Ends, but with more energy than a caffeine influenced guitar crunch and old school hardcore authenticity, Unboweds strength lies within its unrelenting bluntness, the forceful drive of the ten tracks pummelling any desire for musical complicatiors from the listener. thats not to say that Unbowed is a one dimensional work of thuggish grunting - fat from it. The Break In just know that sometimes when weaponised, simplicity can be the deadliest of devices.  (Leander Gloversmith).

Europunk.net 'UNBOWED' review   Sounding like a beast brought forth from the bowels of hell Canterbury The Break In will blow your mind. This is feral, brutal and aggressive (but not clich) straight edge hardcore at its best. If the book of Revelation were enacted opening track Coffin Dodger would break the seals for they sound like Death and Hades (Rev 7:8, 13-15) They were given the power to kill men with sword and famine and plague, the sun turned black, the full moon turned like blood, [and] the stars of the sky dropped to earth. Such is the awesome power and impact of The Break In. This record is full of vitriol and malice, a call to arms for the downtrodden - "Back from the dead my vengeance born again, Give them hell...Rebuild yourself and refuse to be broken". Every song a winner; truth, pride, integrity all shine through. Musically heavy, vocally guttural, and lyrically pure genius; Unbowed is an immense full length debut. A stand out track is difficult to choose, because they are all that good! Leviathan though is a personal favourite. It is unbelievably catchy: "this is exorcism; this is resurrection, against the world, against Leviathan." A call to arms if ever I heard one, and almost as good as The Break In straight edge anthem Iron Hammers. Also Give Them Hell, We Are The Plague and the instrumental outro Legion have all embedded themselves firmly into my memory and reappear at the most apt times. With these songs The Break In have shown their straight edge pride, and created a masterpiece along the way. They are sounding the seven trumpets, with music of passion, of anger, and of purpose. For they are "vengeance born on locust wings..." whove "come to scour the sins of man" and "not while the ink still stains these fists" will they relent. Pick up this record, go to a show and fill your heart with honour. These boys are the revolution. http://www.cornzine.com/tools/reviews/full_review.php3?id=589 The Break In "Unbowed" (Surprise Attack) This is easily one of my favorite releases from Surprise Attack in the last year or two. The Break In play hardcore the way it should be played; fast, hard, and mad. It just SOUNDS mad. Everything about the way this band sounds makes you think it's early 2000 and these guys are from some of the places in Cleveland, OH, that you don't really want to be at night. In reality, they're from a town called Canterbury in South-East England. Yeah, I would've never guessed. I would put this band on any tour with any of the biggest hardcore acts in the world and I feel confident that they would stand their own every night and make a ton of new fans. I honestly think they would upstage a lot of those bands. One band that keeps getting brought up in comparison is Ringworm. I'm thinking more along the lines of The Promise. Either way, it's up to you, if you think you've got the stones to rock this. (Dana White)