With a song called "Church of Black Flag" on their Fat Wreck debut, Cognicide, Western Addiction's debt to the pioneering West Coast hardcore band was clear. The music was thick and choppy, with big bass chords supporting guitars that railed against vocalist Jason Hall's yawping mix of the cynical and confrontational. Cognicide even featured throwback cover art. But it was all in the plan for Western Addiction, who seemed pretty determined to bring that old-school sound back to the mushy ranks of post-whatever punk hybridism in the mid-2000s. In addition to Hall, the band met through employment at Fat Wreck Chords and included Enemy You guitarist Ken Yamazaki, drummer Chad Williams, and bassist Chicken (also of Enemy You). The San Francisco-based quartet issued 2003's Remember to Dismember EP and a No Idea split release with New Mexican Disaster Squad before Cognicide hit in November 2005. ~ Johnny Loftus, Rovi
