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January sparked the indie release of the highly anticipated Howitzer debut CD Rise to Power. Based out of Arizona, this volatile three piece pushes brutality to the edge. Their early punk roots are scattered throughout the disc, bringing together an undeniable old school punk/hardcore vibe reminiscent of the New York scene during the 80’s.

Blacklisted, which starts the disc off, is modern thrash at it’s best. Raw, hungry and pissed. Following suit is Purge and the stomp fest S.I.D. Strangely enough, for a debut release, there are two instrumentals included. As Integrity Dies Slowly shows the acoustic, slower side of the band’s front man and guitarist, Matt Moody. While the piece is intricate and delicate, it simply has no time to go anywhere in one minute and thirty three seconds. The second instrumental, The Shadow of War, is nothing more than static and gun blasts for one minute and forty nine seconds. Makes me wonder what the point of it is when the space could have been used for another full tune.