Despite its title,
Hail Unamerican!, the 11-song debut album by rising San Diego metalcore-punk quartet
Underminded, is largely apolitical and deeply seated in the same American movement that spawned similar bands like
Atreyu and
Thrice. And come to think of it, the band's guitar assault frequently resembles the latter, specifically on the incendiary "This Inquisition." If the apocalyptic, thrash-happy scorcher "Burn the Metropolis" -- replete with a fat-bottomed thump, chaotic chants, and a feral breakdown -- or the maniacal screams of "It's Kinda Like a Bodybag" don't grab you by the jugular, perhaps nothing will. Vocalist Nick Martin typically forgoes melody in favor of the raw aggression he best documents on the mind-blowing experimental opener, "Pablo Escobar's Secret Stash: Revisited."
Hail Unamerican! is definitely not for the timid, but fans of bands like
Alexisonfire,
Darkest Hour, or the aforementioned
Thrice should like it just the same. ~ John D. Luerssen