Long Island’s Regulate have gained quite a bit of steam in the past year. They’ve revamped their lineup to include members of Blind Justice, their new bass player has brought some great balance to their sound, and they’re playing out far more often. And now they’ve released a new six-song 7” on Edgewood Records called Years of Rage.

The 7” marks a striking step forward in songwriting and cohesiveness. While earlier Regulate releases were strong on basic hardcore angst, Years of Rage is more musically consistent and thus more palatable. The opening intro song, “Regulate II,” offers the listener an immediate sampling of just this progression. The song opens with a strong bass fill, the guitars are balanced by octave tracks, and the song as whole moves forward with great energy. In fact, while I get the whole intro jam idea, I actually wished this track had vocals because it is so exceptional.

The record’s third track, “Antispectrum,” is another particular standout. The guitars employ driving and grooving thrash chords for much of the song. And it’s in the choppiness of the latter half of the song that the bass shines through with a simple yet well-placed fill over the breakdown-laden guitar riffs. Strong songwriting for the genre indeed. I think the vocals could’ve done with fewer doubled-over tracks though. I can tell what they were aiming for here, but it went on for a bit too long and ended up detracting from the song a bit.

Which brings me to the enigma of the release overall: the vocals. Now the reason I find the vocals a bit of a mystery is because of the range shown on Regulate’s recorded cover of Bad Brains’ “She’s Calling You.” When they dropped that cover on their bandcamp, I couldn’t have been more impressed with Sebastian’s range. And yet, he doesn’t draw on that much at all throughout Years of Rage. That’s not to say his vocals are subpar on this release, because they’re not. They fit the music and have a great bounce to them, so to speak. He has a great way of building his patterns up into strong crescendos that remind me a lot of David from Down to Nothing. But I was hoping to hear some of the more melodic stylings showcased on the aforementioned cover.

By all accounts, Years of Rage is one of the better DIY hardcore releases of 2016 thus far. Regulate has come a long way in a short time and, while they still have much growing to do, this new 7” really boasts that growth. They're a great representation of the hardcore genre in both their live shows and with Years of Rage. Head over to the Edgewood Records bandcamp and give it a thorough listen.