Despite the fact that
Pennywise had been playing their particular breed of sociopolitical punk for over 20 years, they sound renewed and revitalized on their tenth full-length,
All or Nothing. Maybe this has something to do with the addition of new vocalist
Zoli Teglas (who splits his time between his gig with
Pennywise and his longterm hardcore band
Ignite), replacing
Jim Lindberg, who sang with the band from its inception until 2009.
All or Nothing also marks the longest time the band has ever spent crafting an album, taking four years to complete it following 2008's Reason to Believe, and breaking an unofficial tradition of releasing an album of new material every two years. There's still nothing groundbreaking or even remarkably different about the sound or the songs here. Even new vocalist
Teglas bends to fit the well-established speedy punk sound of the band, honing his vocals in crystal-clear beelines over relentless thrash workouts like "Songs of Sorrow" or inspired choruses on melodic anthems like "Let Us Hear Your Voice" and "Revolution." The 12 songs rarely slow down for so much as a breakdown, keeping the breakneck pace of the album throughout political critiques like "X Generation" and hopeful, empowering songs like "We Have It All." More than drastic developments or even subtle ones,
Pennywise sound present, invigorated, and fully excited on
All or Nothing. Even decades into a punk tenure, the band sounds fresher than ever before, still fighting and showing no signs of stopping anytime soon. ~ Fred Thomas