Review Summary: A Global Threat's album here is a HUGE step away from their former issues, which tends more into the old-school hardcore-punk sound that will even please some metal fans.
A Global Threat kicks in the door with a remarkable new style in their 3rd studio album "Here We Are". (2002, Punkcore Records) Mike Civitarese has left the band after their previous album, their guitarist Pete Curtis has been benched for this album as Bryan Lothian takes over guitar AND vocals during the recording and...there goes their former whiny, generic street-punk sound, out the door. Clocking just over 25 minutes actually, this is AGT's shortest album...but those minutes are filled with an epic mix of punk/hardcore-punk/metal.
Wait....metal?? A Global Threat??? This album marks the actual turning point of the band's life, where they bid "farewell" to their former generic sound from their previous albums "What the *** Will Change?" and "Until We Die", since they experiment with new sounds that give them a more thrash-feel, still staying punk. The guitars in "Here We Are" give it that perfect feel at the solos since its very reverb-friendly, especially in tracks "Out in the Dark" and reaches its highest during the solo on the track "There's Your Threat". (On a side note, this album is the first to include frequent well-preformed guitar solos, which most likely trace back to the fact that Bryan himself plays the guitar.) The bass is heavily overdriven, which gives it a sort of crunch-growl feeling few attempt in punk rock and the least actually are able to create. In tracks such as "Lab-Rat" and "Invite a Coroner", which even have bass intros, this can be easily heard. (the song "On the Clock", which appeared on the 2001 split 7" with Toxic Narcotic included the original version, which sounded in my opinion better than the final, since the bass was even MORE overdriven.) The drums have an echo-ish sound to them, which gives this album a mid-80s feel. In some songs like "Here We Are", the album's opener, it even includes a drum solo in the middle! Rhythms are fast and steady, on some songs more melodious such as in "Bury Your Parents".
Lyrics have (thank god) changed since their last two albums. The topics reflect personal lives and issues and only a few times do they take a vague political stance. Actually, since AGT relocated itself to Boston, they seem to have been influenced by older Boston hardcore-punk bands such as the F.U.'s or the Freeze. In general, A Global Threat has created more complex music than thought to be capable of, with almost no similarites to their previous releases.
