Throughout the history of rock, there have been bands whose influence would dwarf what fleeting time they spent wrecking havoc on their music scene. All Out War is one of those bands. After a tumultuous existence in terms of persistent lineup changes, the original heart and soul of the band returns to recapture their hardcore metal glory, with the April 3 release of Assassins In The House of God on Victory Records. Over 15 years ago, four members of various hard rock bands in the NY area came together to take the thrash sound of Cro-Mags, Kreator, Sodom and Carnivore one step beyond, to serve as the antithesis to the hot new grunge movement and the death metal movement. They became All Out War, whose pure unadulterated fusion of hardcore and metal was practically explosive. The Read more ...

Throughout the history of rock, there have been bands whose influence would dwarf what fleeting time they spent wrecking havoc on their music scene. All Out War is one of those bands. After a tumultuous existence in terms of persistent lineup changes, the original heart and soul of the band returns to recapture their hardcore metal glory, with the April 3 release of Assassins In The House of God on Victory Records. Over 15 years ago, four members of various hard rock bands in the NY area came together to take the thrash sound of Cro-Mags, Kreator, Sodom and Carnivore one step beyond, to serve as the antithesis to the hot new grunge movement and the death metal movement. They became All Out War, whose pure unadulterated fusion of hardcore and metal was practically explosive. Their first gig in 1991 started a near-riot and they were banned from the club. However, the intensity of their music impacted the band as well; members would come and go with alarming regularity. They finally settled on a lineup long enough to sign with Victory Records in 1997 and release what became an instant hardcore classic, For Those Who Were Crucified. They went on the road for memorable tours with Bury Your Dead, Blood For Blood and Hatebreed, but it was only a matter of time before things blew up again. The lineup shuffled again and again, as if All Out War was a never ending revolving door. They eventually got it together to return to the studio in 2003 to record Condemned to Suffer. Yet even that lineup couldn’t hold. In time, it became obvious that what was meant to be was the longtime lineup of bassist Erik Carrillo, drummer Lou Iuzzini, guitarists Jim Antonelli and Jim Bremer and vocalist Mike Score. Suddenly, the spirit and creative vision that was there the beginning had resurfaced—and the result of that is Assassins In The House Of God. “If we were trying to do anything, it was to get back what we were originally,” Mike Score explains. “Some look at it as a regression, but for us, getting the core writing process back together and hanging out without old friends brought back the original vibe of the band. We felt like throwing the whole German thrash sound back together—and do it as brutally as possible.” That they have done in spades, meshing the old with the new. “We resurrected some of the stuff we did in the early 90s, but make it real fresh” Score says, “so we ripped apart a few things out of the old stuff and put it into all-new material. [Producer] Erin Farley did really great job producing it, and Eric [Carillo] came to the table with great ideas to enhance what we had in the choruses. It all came together a lot better than we anticipated going in.” Two special guests helped kicked the music up a notch. Richie O’Brien from Darkside NYC came in to add vocals to ‘Politics Of Apathy,’ and brought an old flavor to the song,” Score notes. “Chris from the original Merauder lineup helped us by coming up with ideas. The input of those two guys really took it in a positive direction.” Two songs stand out in Mike’s mind: “’Assassins In The House of God’ and “Curtain call for The Crucified’ really represent All Out War,” he says. ‘Those have the traditional All Out Of War influences in there; people talk about having a Slayer vibe, which to us, is really funny. In reality we started the band trying to intertwine Kreator, Sodom and Destruction, and by combining all three, people say we produced a Slayer sound. ‘We’re back to an old groove, which is a good thing in our eyes,” Score declares. “We’re not trying to mature. We’re influenced by what we’re influenced by, and if you don’t like it, well, we don’t give a damn. We’re just glad to get the original feel of the band with the old guys back. It’s a good, solid vibe.”.