Ignite
A War Against You

One could use a football metaphor to dissect the comeback of Ignite, “A War Against You.”

If I were an unlikely football coach and Ignite were my team returning to the locker room at the end of the first half, I would tell them disappointedly that they entered the field sluggish and without team spirit, playing in a playful and lazy manner.
I would urge my players to return to the field with those characteristics and that hunger they had shown in the last outing (“Our Darkest Days”).

Because the performance of the first 45 minutes of play disappoints fans and commentators alike.
A performance that produces a flat and boring first half, negatively noteworthy are “Alive” and “Oh No Not Again,” songs that say nothing and at most I would expect them to be composed by noisy enemies and not by them.
The title track has the best pre-chorus of the album, only to then somewhat show its weaknesses in the choruses, which once again do not entirely convince. Too much defense, lack of ideas, and little grit, and the opponents applaud and capitalize.
We save “Nothing Can't Stop Me” and now start running for real and hold on until the return from the holidays of the umpteenth Dr. Agricola, since FCA does not send pro-referee wire transfers from the Netherlands.

Redemption is expected towards those hundreds of people who have flocked and fill the stands, following them faithfully. And here they are finally coming out of the tunnel for the second half.

And after an exploratory “Rise Up,” finally the great opportunities arrive that re-balance a match that seemed hopelessly lost. Zoli Teglas finally remembers to be the golden-throated striker capable of reaching remarkable ranges and making the difference when it comes to melodic hardcore, and he scores a heavy one-two: “Where I'm From” (an autobiographical text about his parents' Hungarian immigrant origins, a theme that also recurs in other texts here) and “Descend” (which deserves a couple of replays) with a crossbar in between (“How Is This Progress”) and a few other good punches delivered with the referee's back turned (“You Lie”).
Before the final whistle, “Work” is worth noting in the notebook, a sunny ballad to which we are now accustomed but which is inferior to “Live for Better Days.”

All this avoids embarrassment and saves the match, which ends in a draw. But it must be said that much more was expected from this team, considering that here we are taking three steps back from “Our Darkest Days” (where the search for melody never thwarted the hardcore attitude) and even from “All Or Nothing,” an album by Pennywise with Zoli on the mic, which worthily replaced Jim Lindberg.

A half unforgivably given to the opponents. But then there is always the last-minute recovery and the unexpected twists.