Following up last year’s 4-song EP “Under The Same Shadow”, Chula Vista’s Take Offense are back in full effect with “United States Of Mind”, the band’s second full-length. These guys manage to pull off paying respect to bands that came before them like Suicidal Tendencies while at the same time sounding fresh and hitting it as hard as say, Terror. Yes, it’s NYHC meets Venice crossover and it sounds pretty damn good!

Produced by Terror’s drummer Nick Jett, the sound on ”United States Of Mind” is as beefed up as it gets with crunchy guitars and dysrhythmia-inducing drums. Songs like “I’ll Smoke You (One Step Ahead)” and “No Room” will get every pit in a frenzy while “Without You” shows that the band is capable of slowing things down and getting more melodic just the same. Solid album!