No Moderation, the first full-length from Richmond-based Government Warning, is a golden nugget of Reagan-era hardcore that must have been sucked through a wormhole and released twenty years after the Gipper left office. This entire album is to `80s hardcore what "Grindhouse" was to low-grade splatter flicks -- a violent, explosive paean to a beloved and bygone era.

Everything I love in a classic hardcore album is here: the simple, unpretentious riffs, the pounding drums and rattling cymbals, and the angry lyrics shouted so fast that they verge towards glossolalia. I don't know much about what goes on in a recording studio, but this album simply sounds like it came out of the `80s hardcore scene, in that it's proudly devoid of palliative polish; think Urban Waste, not Comeback Kid. The lyrics cover the usual fare -- drinking, fighting, shit jobs, anxiety, jocks, media manipulation and such. Is it formulaic? Sure, but if it's a good formula, then what's the problem? No Moderation was never meant to be anything more than a perfect soundtrack for circle pits and skate videos. It's like a breath of fresh air for people like me, who are utterly sick to death of "hardcore" that's basically nothing more than shitty leftovers from Ozzfest repackaged with blast beats and chug-a-lug riffs.

If you're a fan of JFA, Minor Threat, Verbal Abuse or MDC, then I can't imagine that you'd be disappointed with this.