Let's face it. Since the great hardcore revival of 1994, everyone's been trying to give punk a makeover with their own stylistic approach. Band after terrible band tries to ziplock-bag a played-out genre to keep it fresh. But you know how music's not really about music anymore, anyway. It's a get-rich-quick scam. All you gotta do is blow the A&R; guy and you've got it made. (Take it from someone who's had first-hand experience.) Yes, sir. Rock stars are like insurance agents: eternally living short on cash, just waiting for their boat to come in. And when it does, bingo-- fame and fortune.

So it's nice to see someone finally giving updated punk a good name. Atari Teenage Riot blasted onto the scene just as things were getting stale. See, in Germany, the damn Nazis are still trying to furnace people. And around 1992, Swastikore was quickly invading the electronic music scene. That's when ATR stepped in to cut the throats of the evil thugs and prove that you can make angry music without being a racist psychopath and, in the process, provided a happy ending for a band who wants to kill everyone (as opposed to just specific ethnic groups). As for the future, Atari Teenage Riot will be making loud, grinding, scraping music your parents will not understand, and having a good time doing it. Excellent.

-Ryan Schreiber