In a sense Thursday represents all that is seductive about the millions of bands that are watering down their Screaming speed punk, to appeal to a broader audience and at the same time they represent everything that's wrong with it. Among the legions of post-hard core hopefuls these New Jersey quartet have made all the right moves. After releasing their debut Waiting in 1999 (through Eyeball a small New York outfit), the band signed to Chicago's powerpacked Victory label for their '01' release Full Collapse, and then set about touring their ass off with acts like Boy Sets Fire and Sparta in support of the effort.

Thursday's sets were a study in madness and passion sometimes turned outward and sometimes inward, and it was their undeniable belief in themselves that garnered them a groundswell of grassroots support. They got the attention they craved and soon found themselves on the main stage of the Warped Tour and a good bit of rotation on radio stations across the country. And then MTV jumped in supporting the single "Understanding in a Car Crash".

War all the time finds singer Geoff Rickly taking on the politics of post 9/11 as often as he turns his looking glass inward to seek out painful but true shortcomings of his own character. This one of the best albums of it's kind ever created, but it isn't without flaws. "Chief among them is that there are times when War all the Time starts to sound like one big 40 minute song. Despite the introduction of Piano and some techno triffling, and Rickly's shifts between screaming rants and pensive introspection, it's still awefull same-ish from song to song. These are knit-picking complaints because I like this record a lot. Few bands have followed such a strong game plan and emerged this "Victorious. Particularly in a genre of music that is becoming so ridiculously homogenous.

I've seen this band make fools of themselves ('"Conan O' Brien) and I've seem them live. Which is really all it takes to become a believer.