Haste The Day
Pressure The Hinges

THE REVIEW

The impression, I might almost be tempted to speak of certainty..., is that Haste The Day are progressively getting lost along the way and that they are also losing their distinctive characteristics along the path. In fact, after releasing a self-produced introductory work in 2002 ("That They May Know You"), they managed to make a name for themselves thanks to a very beautiful album, "Burning Bridges" (released by Solid State), where they executed a perfect blend of hardcore and metal elements (death/thrash side) with an appealing touch, though never easily melodic, where catchiness came more from the groove than from the refrain or background choruses, where the rhythms were smashing, and where parallels with Agony Scene rather than Killswitch Engage served to do them justice and not to label them as a carbon copy band. With the subsequent "When Everything Falls," the direction taken led them to absorb more and more melodic death Scandinavian influences, and although the sound was inferior, the songs remained excellent. Now, after losing singer Jimmy Ryan, who moved to Trenches and was replaced by Stephen Keech (not quite up to his predecessor's standard), they return with sounds that nod to the latest Atreyu (who themselves didn’t leave a great impression...) and Underoath, including the introduction of hard rock, screamo, and punk-derived parts. Moreover, their writing has significantly simplified, and they have completely depersonalized the tracks; by doing so, "Pressure The Hinges" suffers heavily, and we face a group that can't go beyond a banal normality. What a pity.