When you’re a hardcore fan and you somehow pull off a win by being allowed the opportunity to listen to and review endless amounts of hardcore, I will be honest, some of it starts to sound a bit like some crazy person screaming at the top of the stairs because their equipment has just taken a 30 minute tumble to the bottom floor. It is both fortunate and unfortunate that the genre has expanded into new depths, combining elements of so many different genres of music into the fold. I’ve heard hardcore mixed with bluegrass, hardcore mixed with techno, and hardcore mixed with rap. Again, sometimes the experimentation works and other times not so much. Attack Attack! is a hardcore act that goes into the pros column.

So my first experience with the band is with their latest album, This Means War. I threw it in my Winamp player and placed my headphones on. A wall of feedback invaded my eardrums before drumsticks clickety clacked their lead into Caleb Shomo’s screaming “Start the revolution” intro and then an explosion of hard. So far I’ve been here before, but then enters a pop sensibility that took me by surprise. Wait. What just happened?

The formula that the band incorporates into their sound is a mixture of Hardcore, Electronica, and Pop. Caleb Shomo began as the bands Keyboardist but eventually found his way to lead vocals after the previous lead singers called it quits. That’s quite a bump. What he brings to the table is a very pop synth sound but ferocious vocals, something it must be interesting to see live. On this album Shomo shines as does his keyboard work incorporating the usual pop sensibilities as well as a brief flirtation with dubstep in track The Reality. It’s a refreshing little piece of introduction for me that manages to make the balance work between styles. Well worth checking out if you’re a fan of hardcore and have been looking for more from the genre. As always final judgment is yours. Enjoy.