Annihilation Time＜Clear Vinyl＞

Every press release about Annihilation Time describes them as a hardcore band, but the fact that their songs feature heavy but relatively clean-sounding guitars, contain the odd solo or two, and add vocals that are actually sung instead of barked (well almost, anyway) suggest that perhaps they're more of a hard rock band facing an identity crisis. Whatever! Their eponymous debut, while slashing through its eight songs with hardcore efficiency and barely twenty minutes, actually recalls the hyperactive metallic-punk of bands like the Hellacopters and Backyard Babies -- not Black Flag or Agnostic Front. Which is all well and good since, at the end of the day, the So-Cal quintet shows a decent set of songwriting chops to go with their sharp delivery. To wit, "Down the Street" and "Feel It Inside" are solid, not magical, but occasional near-gems emerge in high-energy headbangers like "Annihilate," "1962" and "Sand Lot." A little more stylistic diversity would be nice, too, but there's no doubt that solving their aforementioned identity issues is probably tantamount to Annihilation Time's future achievements. Good luck! ~ Eduardo Rivadavia