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Although the legendary and consistently hard-hitting Madball released a new album this summer, they've got some serious competition from the similar-minded, NYHC-tinged Allegiance. On Overlooked, California's Allegiance dishes out minute after minute of dizzyingly enthusiastic hardcore and tastefully placed metallic crunch. Their style isn't wholly original to hardcore -- it can sound pretty familiar -- but the level of intensity with which the songs are played is distinctly high.
Allegiance works with a tried-and-true, but undeniably effective, formula for their songs. The band tends to base their music around ragingly fast, traditional hardcore parts, and adds a hefty punch to the gut with slower and heavier bits of metal. Without going overboard, Allegiance reaches a pretty ideal balance between all-out rage and more accessible tempos and guitar riffs. And while the metallic grooves are fun and easy to dance to, they're played with an equally large amount of fury and rage.
Allegiance's singer, John Stark, yells and shouts in a high-pitched, strained style, and his voice adds a lot of character and identity to Overlooked. Stark's singing is loaded with heart and care, and his personal lyrics are no different. In lyrical terms, the closing song, "Why I Am This Way," is likely the most moving. A personal tale of witnessing a friend suffer from physical abuse, the song is full of grim details and anger, especially when Stark yells, "He was four years older and a lot stronger. But I'd tear him apart, yelling to see if he knew. Desperately searching for truth."
There simply aren't any significant problems on Overlooked -- the music is soundly written and performed, the artwork and photography are crisp and professional, and the recording quality is thick and clear. The only thing that will likely turn listeners off is the underlying lack of experimentation. But if blazing, energized hardcore with effective, metallic inclusions is something you pursue, this is one of your best bets of 2005. Good stuff.
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