01. One By One
02. Blood Atonement
03. Cut From God
04. Dirt
05. Angel Eyes
06. Veins
07. No Love Lost
08. Intermission
09. Burn
10. Suffer Me
11. Resurrected [feat. Sonny Sandoval]
12. The Banner Of Heaven

Guilty as charged.

UK hardcore mob Guilt Trip have fought their way to the forefront of the fast rising new wave of UK hardcore that has smashed through any hesitation or resistance and swept away any doubters that stood before it. With the tides still high, Guilt Trip gear up for round four and decide to take the battle to the heavens, suiting up with some Armour Of Angels as they storm the gates of St Peter.

Heaven will get a lot heavier and noisier as Guilt Trip may take the record for inciting the first heavenly mosh pit (where, of course, if you fall over, people will pick you up), with Armour Of Angels containing plenty of material that will get the blood pumping and feet moving. Not ones to grandstand on reputation or ego, Guilt Trip shed the posturing that can seep into hardcore and focus instead on letting the music doing the talking.

And talk it does, with Armour Of Angels having a lot to say, being jammed packed with riffs and breakdowns galore. The likes of "Veins" and "Blood Atonement" highlight how the band manage to fill so much content in so little time while making it flow naturally and not feeling like a jumbled mess (or a progressive band who don't know how to edit). It's not just the quantity of content, either; the band have not sacrificed quality, as you can hear from "Burn" or "Resurrected".

Managing to balance equally enjoyable riffs and breakdowns, the guitar team of Baker and Maden are adept at both, which makes for excellent cuts in "Dirt", "Cut From God" and closer "The Banner Of Heaven". While heavily reliant on pinch harmonics, it is not overdone or the only trick in their bag, as "No Love Lost" highlights. Aided in large part by the excellent production work, the guitar duo sit perfectly in the mix and sound powerful and vibrant, yet not to the detriment of others in the band, who are equally audible and powerful.

While Guilt Trip are riding high, they don't quite hit the heavenly highs they have prior, with Armour Of Angels being a noticeable dip in quality from the band's preceding work. While far better than many in the hardcore scene by a wide margin, it is just a case that the band have raised the bar exceedingly high with their last two albums, and they cannot quite match it here with Armour Of Angels, although it is still fun and enjoyable hearing them try and come quite close.

With the UK scene still rising and riding high, in large part due to bands and albums like this (that thankfully spell armour correctly, no butchering the English language here), Guilt Trip remain at the forefront of this wave with their vital and vibrant sound. Armour Of Angels may not be the band's best work, but it is still one hell of an album and something worth seeking out if you have even only a passing interest in hardcore.

Performance:	8
Songwriting:	7
Originality:	6
Production:	8