Rewritten is everything you want in a hardcore record: hot guitar riffs, off-the-hook drumming and stirring, all-out vocals. Lead vocalist Dave Mac's acerbic jabs at American apathy pack enough energy to knock your ass clear to Canada.

"...A Moving Train" is the first really compelling cut. The crunchy, discordant guitars that chug along at the song's outset spill smoothly into a melodic metal lead line. Without any warning, Dave Mac comes flying in with his caustic political commentary: "Indoctrinated from day one with the mantra of excess / How the fuck do I turn it off?" Over two explosive minutes, the band fuses measured chug-chug-chugging and incendiary guitar licks, while Jay Kehoe turns his drums into rhythmic wreckage.

"Lost And Found" provides a refreshing change from the unabating storm of ass-kicking guitar with a short tribal tom-pounding drum break. When Deville and Mitchell re-enter, they churn out grinding, harmonizing guitar lines that perfectly complement the cadence of Mac's railing. And don't let the slow fade-out at the end of "Bloody Knuckles"' deceive you; while it seems like an odd non-ending, the song has to stop at some point in the live setting, even for such a relentless rocker.

"Drenched"'s guitars are dazzling; functioning as the sole vehicle for melody, they discharge blasts of noise chemically engineered to corrode everything in their path, all the while leaving palpable traces of accessible texture. "Let It Out" gives bass player Adam Mitchell an intro-sized stretch in which to shine, then unleashes more of the relentless guitar shredding and vocal chord abuse. At just over three minutes, it's the longest of Rewritten's 12 tracks, owing largely to an unexpected minute-long outro with fist-pumping gang vocals and more tantalizing guitar.

Closer "The Everything Festival" is the only tune capable of ending this all-out affair. With Sean Murphy adding a layer of searing, high-pitched wailing to round off the vocal duties, the song actually kicks the pace up a notch and kicks you in the head one last time.

Indeed, a musical collision awaits you if you dare tackle this beast of a record -- and you should. More importantly, go out and see these guys live -- they'll give you the aural ass-kicking that you know you've been looking for.