Evolution truly is a rapid process. Just look at the hardcore/metalcore scene these days and even some of its most recent iterations have nearly been forgotten in favor of fashionably Swedish-styled riffing and liberal amounts of pilfered Bay Area thrash. The Warriors (who hopefully took their name from the classic 1979 film) are the proverbial historians here to change that, for the fury they bring forth is one that is heavily entrenched in a sound that is now all but forgotten.

Capturing the raw and crushing weight of groups like Earth Crisis, Inside Out and others, The Warriors dutifully pay homage to the early to mid 90's sound. Massive riffing matches up with a titan-like rhythm section to create some fiercely inspired aggression that favors repetition over sonic progression. In turn, the band are able to play out their primal instincts with vicious results, clobbering and battering the listener with a bevy of blunt objects while shunning most opportunities to engage in any needless surgical dissections. An enraged over the top vocal performance that more often than not amounts to gratingly treble-heavy screams and gang vocal back-up's is thus led to lead the way; and does so much like a maniacal general caught up in the heat of some barbaric conflict.

While such a description may lead one to believe that this is steakhead music with no frills, the ample guitar fills and malevolent little eccentricities present do provide an air of intelligence that belies the primal onslaught. Still, innovation and uniqueness are not exactly The Warriors strong points. They put up a good fight and leave many a blood-soaked battlefield but their tactics lack the genius to put them into the history books. With some more strategizing and a better fleshing out of their ever present dark undercurrents, the group could easily establish themselves as a powerful force. But for now they seem to be more caught up in hand to hand infantry combat, lacking the overall scope to strike a decisive victory.