Yup, you are reading the title correctly; the band’s name is Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows. Now luckily, if you think that is too long to say, you can always call them by their abbreviated name, D.R.U.G.S. That’s right, if you have to explain who you are listening to, you can say that you are listening to and like DRUGS.

Now, if you’re reading this, and are already turned off by the band’s name, don’t be. Made up of singer Craig Owens (formally with Chiodos), guitarist Nick Martin (formerly with Underminded), drummer Aaron Stern (formerly with Matchbook Romance), Guitarist Matt Good (formerly with From First to Last), and Adam Russell (formerly with Story of the Year) creates an almost super group of alternative/hard rock/emo heavyweights. And their debut album is their championship bout.

The opening track, “If You Think This Song Is About You, It Probably Is,” is an intense introduction to who D.R.U.G.S. are. One of my personal favorites, “The Only Thing You Talk About,” is a hardcore anthematic ode to one of Owens’ exes, with one of the most memorable breakdowns of this year. “Graveyard Dancing” is reminiscent to something off of Chiodos Bone Palace Ballet, which just like that album, is dark and powerful. “Mr. Owl Ate My Metal Worm” is contains lyrics that sound like they could fit in with early My Chemical Romance (“I like to keep cuttin’, but I can’t stand to watch myself bleed”). The track also introduces some Dubstep in the album, which fits a lot better than you would think.

Now usually, I have to stop listening and take some notes, but in the case of D.R.U.G.S, I had to continue listening. “Sex Life,” the second single off of the album, is an almost intrusive blast of hard rock, which chorus goes back to an eff-you to a certain ex (Owens goes into this wheel-house a lot). “Stop Reading, Start Doing Pushups” combines the force that a band like Four Year Strong with the screaming of any huge metal band. “I’m The Rehab, You’re The Drugs” is another intense session of lyrical perfection from Owens. Even their softest track, “I’m Here To Take The Sky” is an incredible inspirational ballad, which doesn’t take away from the entire album, something that a lot of bands fail on.

D.R.U.G.S. are no rookies, and their musicianship shows it. Like I’ve applauded before in my review, Craig Owens kills every song. His ability to both sing and scream makes the delivery of each song something you have to listen to. Guitarist Nick Martin plays his parts perfectly, and the screams that he lends to some of the songs brings out an intensity to help Owens. As I think about it, each member of the band deserves recognition; they collectively bring together extremely well developed parts to help put out one of the best hardcore rock albums of the past year.

I’m incredibly jealous of people who will be attending Warped Tour this year; you get to see and listen to Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows live. I remember listening to Chiodos in 2009, and thought that that was the greatest show I’ve ever seen. But now, I can only imagine how off-the-wall insane D.R.U.G.S’ live show will be. I hope that Craig Owens and Co. can keep this crazy train rolling and put out another album soon, assuming that they don’t break up from each other. Until then, I highly recommend that you give D.R.U.G.S a try. You might just get hooked.

Final Grade: B+

Go Download: “The Only Thing You Talk About”