Band : Insolence

Album title : Audio War

Label : Powerslave Records

Distributor : Sonic Rendezvous

Release date : 19/02/2008 (USA; EUR= end of April 2008)

Release : CD

Imagine my amazement when looking up some info on this San Jose (California) based Reggae/ Ragga/ Dub influenced Metal act, and finding out that they originallt started out in 1995...as a Thrash Metal outfit!

Releasing their first albums (1996's Within , 1998's Universal , 1999's remix & demo compilation Terrorist , and 2000's Poisonous Philosophy ) on their own Loud Mouth imprint before being caught up by major (and Madonna owned) label Maverick (a Warner Brothers spinoff) for 2001's Revolution . By that time, the band's musical direction had altered drastically from the full-on Speed Metal antics on their 1996 promo-CD Vicious Circle . Where "official" debut Within already showed influences from Hardcore and Funk, Revolution displayed a clear Rap/ Nu-Metal direction. Not surpising, as by 1998 only drummer Armando Cardenas remained as original member. A new outfit was founded with co-vocalists Mark Herman and " Mech 1 " (real name Billy Rosenthal ) and 18 year-old guitarist Mike Rowan . This is the unit which recorded 1998 album Universal , which saw the band spread its wings from the already voluminous fanbase in America (following several tours with the likes of Adema , Alien Ant Farm , Cypress Hill , Incubus , Jane's Addiction , Machine Head , Papa Roach , Rancid , Sevendust , Staind System Of A Down (to name but the biggest names) and toured Europe twice in that same and the following year.

No need to say, I suppose, that getting their Revolution album out on Maverick , and the fact that the album featured guest appearances from such esteemed musicians as guitarist Logan Mader (ex- Machine Head and Soulfly ), bassist Robert Trujillo (then with Ozzy Osbourne ), and drummer Roy Mayorga (also formerly with Soulfly ; the three of 'em also members of Pale Demon which would be renamed to Medication ), plus Angelo Moore of Fishbone and Sen Dog of Cypress Hill ...made the album a worldwide success. The song "Natural High" even made it to the movie soundtrack of the Adam Saddler featuring comedy hit Little Nicky , and to the trailer for Robert Redford 's Last Casrle . Touring with Black Sheep , Corporate Avenger , Hoobastank , Ill Niño , Insane Clown Posse , Kottonmouth Kings , and Soulfly , and getting the single Poison Well (culled from the album) circulated on a regular basis on several MTV shows certainly helped promote the album too. Next, the band was flown to Toronto to record a cameo feature in the Sylvester Stallone movie Driven , and songs off the album got featured on the soundtrack of Play Station 2 game Pro Snowboarder . In January 2002 rumours turned up that the band might be splitting, but it was only the original drummer pulling out. Cardenas owning the rights to the bandname made Insolence ' future under that name uncertain for a while. Things leveling out, the band recruited former Salmon drummer to replace the exiting skinsman.

Insolence moved up the corporate ladder, signing to Warner Brothers for the 2003 album Stand Strong , selling a total of 200,000 copies including that record. Disagreement between band and label on the musical path to follow then resulted in the band being thrown off the major. Undaunted, Insolence persevered, and signed to the smaller label Powerslave Records , which apparently has a branch in Japan, as the Audio War album was already released there in August 2007 (of course with the obligatory bonus track), the US to follow only on February 19 th this year (and Europe in late April). Meanwhile, the label also released the Japan only Ins 03 Naked EP (featuring 5 songs off the 2003 album) in early December.

As a prelude to the American release of the album, the band (with a line-up now including Herman , Mech 1 , Rowan , new DJ Ichy – replacing Jerry " Da Hermit " Dalalo whom was still active on the Audio War album – bassist Clint " Sobolic " Westwood , and Higushi ) was already on a US tour with (Hed)Pe , Kingspade , and Subnoize Souljaz during late January and February, followed that up with a Japanese tour in early March (with 10-Feet , apparently one of Japan's most popular Punk bands, and joined at last minute by new Japanes Punk rave Maximum The Hormone ) and have just finished a round of (10) gigs in Germany and (1) Austria with German label Rodeostar artist 4Lyn during late April (and the band posted a total of 28 blogs of their Japanese and European tour on the font page of their website insolence1.com for you to view and enjoy). March 5 th saw the Japanese release of a new enhanced EP entitled Uprising , featuring two brandnew songs, a debut song by the band's new DJ, and a never-heard remix of the Revolution track "Lifted" ...the enhanced part of the disc has a documentary with behind-the-scene footage of the band's promotional tour of Japan in 2007.

Concentrating on the music, I have to say I find this band's most prominent influence has to be Reggae in the first place. They do some dubby things in the calmer songs, and will include some really heavy, say Hardcore, guitar in the more energetic ones. With the aggression occasionally comes some more chaotic moments as well, but even there a connection to Jah and I & I can be felt. And with album closer "BMD" they tótally take the Reggae side of things (vocally, it's lso the only song on the album in which a lady sings along in the backing choir)! Lyrically, the band is completely in-sink with the ideas of universal brotherhood, and it should therefore not be surprising that some of the songs are a direct demand (well, that's a strong term, perhaps) to bring back love to the world (as opposed to the omnipresent hatred that seems to reign the globe these days). For your taste of the band's music, check out their website (you'll find demo versions of two songs) or surf to myspace.com/insolenceone (where you'll find the same two songs in finished version plus two more off the last album, plus two songs off 2003's Stand Strong album).

A very versatile album indeed, and one capable to grow into my "Best Albums Of 2008"...except of course for the fact that it already saw a (Japanese) release in 2007, and for the fact that the material really is one of those things which needs time to grow on one.

92/100

Tony.