Remembering Never have shared a part in the current uprising of modern hardcore, issuing first an EP and then their Ferret Music debut, "She Looks So Good In Red" in 2002 under the guidelines of meshing emo with savage hardcore/metal. The band quickly soured at the thought of being aligned with this movement of superficial sappiness however and despite their success, looked to alter the force which guided them through the quagmire of metallic music. Almost in direct response to those that criticized the group for merely falling in line to follow the rising popularity of emotional metalcore, "Women And Children Die First" sheds light on a possible solution that could turn modern hardcore around, and does so in agonizingly violent form.

Though they have retained the melodic metalcore dynamic, it should be made known that this is a record that brings the heavy in exaggerated doses lethal enough to put down a rhinoceros. Jaw-droppingly intense in every aspect and yet surprisingly competent lyrically, Remembering Never have gone to great lengths to convince fans to forget about the mistakes made on "She Looks So Good In Red"; and to view this breakdown battlefield as their re-debut. On "Women And Children Die First" the band find it necessary to instill some sort of message into the music once more and this is a noble pursuit that does indeed inject a sense of purpose into the material found here. The blunt dismissal of organized religion on "For The Love Of Fiction" opens the album, and the lethargic brutality conveyed signals a new level of intensity for the band. Their time on the road has clearly aided in strengthening their musical demeanor, and the threatening ease at which these men go about their hardcore assault reveals how confident they are in their mission.

Vocalist Peter Kowalsky serves as the figurehead and inspiration behind the group's new-found desire to reinstate what are now endangered hardcore ideals, and his throaty voice punishes your ears on topics ranging from animal cruelty ("The Grenade In Mouth Tragedy") to war & politics ("The Color Of Blood And Money"Kowalsky's disgust and frustration is evident when speaking on such topics, and in fact this disgust seems to be the fuel that thrusts "Women And Children Die First" along; urging it to plow forward seeking some sort of answer or voice of reason to explain the senseless destruction of modern morality. His clean singing has been restrained a bit, and though Kowalsky will never be a pop singer, his range has improved. The riff-heavy guitar assault is foreboding in its volatile nature, always balancing precariously on the verge of collapsing in upon itself. This is never quite the case, but the frantic momentum often gained is rapidly dismantled by sudden breakdowns, making this a fiercely unstable but none-the-less satisfying album. The ZAO resemblance found on "Serenading This Dead Horse" is slightly disheartening, but the scathing assessment of the scene today salvages the track and makes this one of the album's most interesting cuts. On top of the spastic hardcore explosions found on the ten tracks offered forth, there is a stunning cover of Pantera's "Strength Beyond Strength" hidden at the album's end, and this serves as a ferocious (yet faithful) end to a record that is about as tough as they come.

There is a lingering similarity to Poison The Well still roaming these aural corridors. Yet the group have built onto this stylistic quirk quite extravagantly, embellishing the music with a barrage of earth-quaking breakdowns and emphatic chunkiness. Clearly this outfit have now modeled themselves after such forward-thinking units as Earth Crisis, fusing their metallic dexterity with lyrical importance, and this song structure benefits them greatly. Remembering Never have some truly lofty goals set for this release and though it is high-quality metalcore, it isn't likely to be the sutures needed to halt the scene's blood-letting. With that said, "Women And Children Die First" is still a powerful opus from the Florida quintet, decimating their past achievements and paving way for future accomplishments. Seeing the focus taken away from image and placed once more on the message that the music carries is a welcome direction more of today's hardcore acts should follow.