During the Cold War, the specter of Mutually Assured Destruction formed the backdrop against which many musical and literary statements were articulated, but in today's post-9/11 world there are a myriad of new concerns to take the place of the long-standing threat of nuclear annihilation (which still exists but is now usually placed comfortably out of view). Of all possible responses to the evaporation of atomic age terror, Think I Care chose nostalgia. The cover depicts a devastated metropolis and the title track roars with bitterness: "Look at this asylum we live inââ¬Â¦Armageddon can't come soon enough."
World Asylum is a record about as pleasant and friendly as a toxic waste dump. This is hard, ugly music that's dripping with contempt; an appropriate soundtrack for a public execution or the demolition of a major city. The adjective "brutal" gets tossed around a lot to describe bands like this, but I've rarely heard an album more aptly described as brutal than World Asylum. It's got that same air of savage caveman fury that you hear in Crossed Out, but bolstered by an awesome production and some truly memorable songs.
It's undoubtedly Think I Care's best offering yet; the band has never sounded harsher or heavier than they do now. Their songs are better than ever, occasionally even recalling Citizens Arrest: songs like "Nature of the Beast" and "Matter of Time" will reverberate in your head like artillery fire, even if they don't reach the same realm of flawless songwriting as A Light in the Darkness. The vocals in particular sound truly awesome: totally pissed off but still perfectly phrased and dynamic. World Asylum is a more mid-paced affair than some of their previous material, but the tempo is just right. The album's churning pace only adds to its bleakness and oppressive weight.
World Asylum ends with an instrumental track, as it seems many hardcore albums have lately, but this record stands out from the pack like few others on the market. With this LP Think I Care have distinguished themselves more than ever as standard-bearers for venomous, misanthropic hardcore.
