The Warning – All Systems Dead / 2006 Punkcore / 12 Tracks / http://www.thewarningpunks.com / http://www.punkcore.com / Reviewed 08 July 2006

From the first lines of “All Systems Dead”, individuals will be able to hear that The Warning are huge fans of eighties metal, as hints of Judas Priest, old Metallica, and Iron Maiden scatter the landscape. The vocals look much towards the crust/thrash side of things, with a little bit of streetpunk chorus thrown in for good measure. As is the case with many of the thrash and crust bands on the market, the extreme speed of tracks like “All Systems Dead” is enough that most of the arrangements rely heavily on repetition.

However, unlike other bands that fall into a rut with their repetition (such as Human Vice Patrol), the songs are either short enough or the repetition broken enough by arrangements that it allows individuals to keep listening in. The band changes up their general sound during “Innocence Gone”. Gone are the brutal metal riffs of the previous tracks and present are the type of guitar riffs that are similar to those of neo-hippie movement of the late eighties and early nineties. This is not to say that the band should be identified with Phish, but that The Warning follow a tradition that was present in earlier acts, such as Husker Du and The Replacements, and re-presented itself in the pop punk of acts like early Green Day. The derivation into the lighter style for “Innocence Gone” is something that does not exist long; “Suicide” is one of those tracks that is as furious as anything else that The Warning put out, but is made harder-sounding when one puts the lighter track before it. The band jumps back and forth between the two styles during the rest of “All Systems Dead”; the band keeps individuals guessing during this album because of that, and the fact that the band does both styles well means that individuals will continue to listen in.

“Detroit Riot City” is a track that almost feels too bare, as if there was another track that someone forgot to put in. Luckily, it is only three minutes until “Senseless Murder” starts up, which uses very active guitars to go and create an atmosphere that highlights what is actually being said in the track. The Warning have came into their own with “All Systems Dead”, and while there are minor issues with the disc at points, the disc taken as a whole is something that any fan of punk can completely dig.

Top Tracks: Senseless Murder, Suicide

Rating: 6.1/10

[JMcQ]