A mere four months after the release of a covers album,
For the Lions, New Haven's
Hatebreed offer their first truly new album in three years. This self-titled offering, the band's fifth, is the first outing to feature both new guitarists -- Frank Novinec, who joined in 2006, and newcomer Wayne Lozinak. In addition, drummer
Matt Byrne replaced original skin man Rigg Ross, making vocalist
Jamey Jasta and bassist
Chris Beattie the only two founding members. Despite the new members, the sound is crafted around almost exactly the same formula that has made the band such a sought-after attraction on the metalcore circuit. In the summer of 2009, they shared stages all over the world with
Slipknot,
Slayer, and
Korn, as well as having preferred lineup spots in many music festivals. With this CD, faster, downtuned hardcore is melded to slower, more decidedly doom-laden death metal moments -- check the surprisingly retro but utterly killer instrumental "Undiminished" -- all played with extreme technical flair, stop-and-start cadences, and call-and-response choruses. The rest of these 15 tracks range from headbanging anthems such as the opener, "Become the Fuse," to
Hatebreed's trademark bone-cracking heaviness in "Everyone Bleeds Now" and pummeling riff-laden hardcore in "Merciless Tide." As a bonus, there is an edit of "Escape" tacked on at the end of the set. [A vinyl version of
Hatebreed was released in 2009.] ~ Thom Jurek