Hatebreed
Perseverance

THE REVIEW

One could very simply give this album a single adjective and dispel any shadow of doubt that this record is beyond any limit—DEVASTATING! But doing so would take away all the fun of searching for it from those who have never heard this pearl of sonic violence.

Closing the initial discussion with which I have already given a judgment prematurely, I will try to analyze this record in detail.

First of all, forget any germ of melody that comes to mind when thinking of today's "Metalcore" groups. Period. Second, imagine the blasts of pure, brash decibels that hit your ears when listening to bands like Madball, Agnostic Front, and Sick Of It All... (you know these, yes..) Third point. Into the infernal cauldron, add a sprinkle of "Slayer-like" riffs and some bone-crushing breakdowns. If after all this you still haven't gotten a vague idea of who these ruffians might be, then it's time to press "play"..

We start explosively with the song that (perhaps..) best reflects the wild spirit of Hatebreed. "Proven". A frontal assault of pure "Metalized HC" that like a mad bullet, flies by in just over 2 minutes and 30 seconds! (The final mosh is memorable, a blast of rage and brute strength). Tracks like "Perseverance" (the piece that gives the album its name), "You're Never Alone" and the super single "I Will Be Heard"—featured at the end of each of their shows—slide by quickly. Following in succession, we find incandescent conglomerates of fury and ferocity such as "A Call For Blood" (just the song's lyrics send shivers down your spine), "Below The Bottom", "Unloved" and "Hollow Ground". If we then add a gem like "Final Player", with Mr. Kerry King on guitar, who enters the track with an elegance worthy of a pachyderm, well... I'd say we're there.

You can safely place this record in the pantheon of the heaviest and rawest albums released in the last 10 years, at least in the hc/metal domain. An album made with muscle, strong with enviable conviction and pride, possessed only by bands that truly have something to say.