In 1995 Testing the Limits of Infinite would have been standard fare by any big league hardcore band. You see, back then many bands liked to play metal. They really loved their Slayer riffs interspersed with their mosh parts and we all ate it up because our dirt bag metal head friends wouldn't piss and moan about what we played in the car on frequent trips to Sex World in Minneapolis. Three floors of porn. THREE FLOORS!
Anyhow, Reign Supreme is a straight edge hardcore band, and that is nice to see these days. Even though I currently don't transcribe to the sober mentality it's good to see a band that's edge and not talking about murdering dope dealers or trying to be the next Champion. Testing the Limits of Infinite makes references to breaking those chains polluting your body, but I don't feel like I am being confronted by any means. Reign Supreme just tells you how it is and if you don't like it, well that's cool.
As noted earlier, Testing the Limits of Infinite is a metal tinged hardcore album chock full of mosh parts, shouted sing-along choruses, smidges of speeds and really fucking sick Slayer riffing that had me enjoying this album throughout. Almost every song telegraphs (hell let's just 2009) or Tweets their mosh parts to make sure you can get enough people out of your way to destroy that floor. Thankfully the two-step parts are limited to a couple tracks on Testing the Limits of Infinite so I'm not bombarded with images of synchronized skanking. For a metallic album Testing the Limits of Infinite has all the requisite parts to make it enjoyable but never anything groundbreaking.
Even though Reign Supreme isn't covering any new ground that Unbroken or Strife hasn't already laid out they are still competent at their craft. It's not impossible to be metallic hardcore band these days but you always cross the line of just being a metal band playing VFWs to flannel wool cap set. Reign Supreme ride that line cautiously. Testing the Limits of Infinite is made for clearing out dance floors and getting that all important mic time. It's hardcore for the head banging sect from a band that doesn't wants people to know their belief system and thankfully not assholes about it. Testing the Limits of Infinite is another quality heavy release from Deathwish.
