Alright, let me air out once and for all one of my major pet peeves: this sickening trend of the "fake ending" on a CD. You know what I'm talking about; when the last song seems to have ended, and is followed by a very long silence, only to have either a bonus track afterwords or some cute-ass outtake. It was cool when Tool did it years ago, but it's gotten completely out of hand. Boiler, for instance, makes us wait 30 minutes for the last song.
I guess I should have been suspicious when I popped this hardcore CD in my player and saw a running time of 70+ minutes. Hmm..
That complaint aside, The New Professionals is fun stuff. The opening note attack of "Superseed" is dissonant, quirky and ear-catching, and it exactly the kind of thing you'd never expect from a hardcore band. Arrangements, too, have much more life and thought in them than your average Biohazard-wannabe; "Vice Grip" is a standout piece, as is "Feed", a song with some of the smartest and most poetic lyrics in the history of hardcore. Bassman Will Price deserves special attention for keeping his sound up front and using it in clever ways, much more than just a background instrument.
The thinking man's Biohazard? Perhaps. Regardless, The New Professionals is a slamming and exciting disc that will get even the most jaded head bobbing. Show ya love.