Rival Schools, United by Fate - Rival Schools was created through guitarist and singer Walter Schreifels who had originally been he guitarist for the '80s hardcore group 'Gorilla Biscuits' and had then gone on to influence the entire post-hardcore movement with his influential and creative work in the band 'Quicksand'. The group's drummer Sam Siegler has played within the likes of 'Gorilla Biscuits', 'Youth Of Today', 'Judge', 'Shelter', 'CIV' and 'Glassjaw'. Guitarist Ian Love was a former member of the bands 'Burn' and 'Die 116'. Finally, Rival School's bassist is Cache Tolman takes experience from the likes of 'Iceburn' and 'CIV'. With their collective talents put together, the emo super-group 'Rival Schools' was born, attracting wide media attention and an instant fan base.

The summer of 2001 saw the long awaited release of the band's debut full length album 'United By Fate' through Schreifels' old 'Quicksand' label, Island Records.

The track listing is as follows:
1. Travel By Telephone
2. Everything Has Its Point
3. High Acetate
4. Undercovers On
5. Good Things
6. Used For Glue
7. World Invitational
8. The Switch
9. Holding Sand
10. My Echo
11. Favorite Star
12. So Down On
13. Hooligans For Life

The album contains some truly creative and inspirational songwriting and song construction with an explosive energy behind it that clearly floods through from the songs. The guitars deliver a layered and chunky wall of thick riffage that blasts throughout the CD. Schreifels' vocals are rough and gritty which complements the desperate sound that the group produce.

The album includes the hit single "Used For Glue" that delivers a simple but meaty riff that is the tracks foundation. Awesome in its simplicity, the song is a sing-along anthem even after the first listen. As for the rest of the album, it's packed with a diverse range of different song styles that still have the same 'Rival Schools' seal of quality. The album is definitely a 'grower', but persistence does pay off in the end.

A very, very highly recommended album.