Ignite - A War Against You

Artist: Ignite

Album: A War Against You

Year: 2016

Rating: 80/100

Ignite are back. Yes, Ignite are back, after a ten year hiatus, which involved vocalist Zoli Teglas spend a short stint in the line up of fellow SoCal punk rockers Pennywise, before injuring his back. Once he made a full recovery, Ignite took back to the studio for the first album they've done since the excellent "Our Darkest Days" ten years ago. So what can we expect from this?

Well, much of the same, but in the case of Ignite, that's never a bad thing. Opening track "Begin Again" is the sort of rallying call to arms we can expect from the Orange County quintet, and the tracks hit harder than a boxer's uppercut, with hit after hit supplementing their attack, as is to be expected. "Oh No Not Again" is a singalong with massive choruses to match the riffs, "Where I'm From" and "The Suffering" are angry diatribes about how the world could be a much better place than it actually is, while the title track "This is a War" and "Rise Up" offer some slower alternatives to Ignite's attack, enough to make the listener imagine that Ignite must be an excellent live band.

Although it's not quite "Our Darkest Days" (although let's face it, it'd be a hard push to match that album in terms of sheer brilliance), "A War Against You" is the kind of return Ignite and their fans were hoping for to give a voice back to those without one. If you're looking for a gateway to Ignite and their music, this would be an excellent place to start.

Track Listing:

1. Begin Again
2. Nothing Can Stop Me
3. This is a War
4. Oh No Not Again
5. Alive
6. You Saved Me
7. Rise Up
8. Where I'm From
9. The Suffering
10. How Is This Progress?
11. You Lie
12. Descend
13. Work