Eleven years after the condemned-to-obscurity Superlife full-length, MAXIMUM PENALTY returns with their unique NYHC sound intact, and showing virtually zero rust after more than a decade on the sidelines. That alone is a testament to the vocal strength of soulful lead singer Jimmy Williams and the cast of veteran musicians who join him on Life & Times, including Jonathan Buske of TERROR, ANOTHER VICTIM fame.

MAXIMUM PENALTY means a lot to me. As a teen, an Aunt slipped me a copy of their 1996 full-length, Independent, shortly after it came out, and the band’s sound was strongly different from popular NYHC bands SICK OF IT ALL, MADBALL, and AGNOSTIC FRONT — there was singing, actual singing at the forefront of the music, while keeping up with breakdowns and booming guitars. It was a different musical point of view, one of which went on to influence many other hardcore bands, including another personal favorite, FAHRENHEIT 451. Activity picked up in the MP camp in 2008 when I Scream Records re-released the band’s classic 1989 demo and East Side Story EP on CD for the first time. With numerous shows on the band’s docket, a new full-length was recorded, and the beautiful sounding recording result is something that must feel like sweet rewards for Williams, who was around to experience the early wave of NYHC and again earned a spot among popular and much younger peers.

Life & Times is vintage of MAXIMUM PENALTY. Basically nothing has changed in the group’s style of songwriting and the fact that Williams’ voice is so strong, some 20 years after the band’s debut, is remarkable. Bass lines rumble with a bulldozer toughness, and the general simplicity of the groove-oriented guitar playing puts power first. Not a lick of metal is to be found, and while tempo changes fly fast and furious, they correlate to matters of ‘bounce’ rather than effects that scream ‘slam yo’ face to the ground.’ (with the exception of the stomping fun on “What Goes Around”).”Smooth” was always a word I associated with MP – verse and chorus transitions are seamless, and somewhat to the band’s detriment, true standout elements are hard to find. Memorable lyrics are easier to come by, however, particularly on “Myself,” and the clawing, “Fight My Way Back.”

All told, MAXIMUM PENALTY do things there own way, and comparing their styles to other bands, both past and present is a mostly worthless task. With a tremendous recording at hand, and some of the band’s most personal songs to date, this is a homecoming release for the group, and no matter what the critics say (both good and bad), Life & Times likely means the world to the original band members involved.

Reaper