This band lists their influences as Broken Bones, the Misfits, and Iron Maiden. I’ll admit I am not intimately familiar with those particular bands, so my interpretation of their reliance on those influences is going to be fairly vague. That being said, The Infected is pretty fucking sweet. Their blistering metallic guitar riffs pay homage to ‘80s metal and hardcore that even I can recognize, without sounding too derivative. I’m pretty picky about screaming and Cookie Monster vocals, but vocalist Luke Diseased pulls it off with aplomb, sounding badass without coming off like he’s trying too hard. The difference between this and so many other “hardcore” acts out there is that this is still rock’n’roll at its core; noisy, frantic, and pissed off as hell, but it’s still music, and doesn’t tip the scales into the “just noise” category as so many others sadly do. They’re not afraid of a little production, either: the album still sounds raw, but not like it was recorded by someone’s cousin in their mom’s basement. Overall, a quality piece of punk rock worth checking out. Plus, they sound like they’d kick ass live. –Sarah Shay
–guest (Bouncing Betty)