Ignite Our Darkest Days CD

Ignite are one band whose sound is hard to pin down, as their music contains elements of punk, hardcore, alternative, and even (to a lesser degree) heavy metal. Any band that refuses to be pigeonholed in the early 21st century should be commended, and Ignite continue on their path with their 2006 release Our Darkest Days. Six years have passed without a new album by the group (who do they think they are, Boston?), but the Orange County quintet has reappeared seemingly from nowhere with its fourth full-length (and first for new label Abacus). Despite containing hints of hardcore here and there, frontman Zoli Teglas completely bypasses barking vocals in favor of melodic singing, which makes it not hard to imagine such tracks as "Fear Is Our Tradition" and "Let It Burn" being played on a local mainstream rock radio station. That said, tracks such as the Bad Religion-esque "Poverty for All" sound custom-made for slam dancing at the Warped Tour. It may have taken for what seemed like forever to get their fourth long-player released, but Our Darkest Days is sure to not let down fans who snapped up such releases as A Place Called Home and Call on My Brothers. ~ Greg Prato

Ignite: Nik Hill, Brian Balchack (guitar); Brett Rasmussen (bass guitar); Craig Anderson (drums).

Recording information: Maple Sound Studios, Santa Ana, CA; Paramount Studios, Hollywood, CA.

Kerrang (Magazine) (p.50) - "[I]t remains politically charged, packed with great tunes and determined to wring every ounce of emotion out of frontman Zoli Teglas's vocal range."