Life & Times (10.06.2009)

Rating: 9.5 / 10

Posted: September 09, 2009 at 4:43pm
Author: Bruce Moore

It took me all the way until September to find but I believe I may have heard my favorite album of the year. The New York Hardcore band Maximum Penalty has hit full stride with the release of their latest record Life & Times; an unbelievable bombshell of a disc. Every criteria I set forth when evaluating CD’s has been met and in most cases exceeded on this release.

Track after scorching track pummels the listener with a potent merger of killer Hardcore and old school New York Thrash complete with ton of heavy thrashing riffs, and pit-friendly breakdowns. As soon as I heard the first thirty seconds of Life & Times, I was sold hook, line and sinker. Damn. I love this CD! It has been a while since a band has hit the scene with such intensity. The Hardcore/Thrash genre of music is going to be turned upside down when this hits the stores next month.

While I sincerely enjoyed the whole disc, there are a few tracks that stood out to me as brilliant. “Truth & Consequence” and “What Goes Around,” are both absolutely mind-boggling tunes that rock so hard I broke a sweat. This disc begs to be cranked loud, really loud. The production is incredibly big and pristine and frankly, it is flawless.

I have absolutely nothing bad to say about this disc at all. If you are a fan of the Hardcore or Thrash Metal genres, you need to make sure you pick this one up when it is released on October 6th. Life & Times is that good and is a must have for your collection.  [ END ]

Track Listing:

01. Life And Times
02. Paper Bullets
03. Fight My Way Back
04. ...And The Walls
05. Threat Assessment
06. By All Means
07. Tribulations
08. Those Condemned
09. Myself
10. What Goes Around
11. Truth & Consequence
12. Realize
13. Middle Of Nowhere
14. As You Were Before
15. If I Fall

Run Time: 37:01