When Connecticut hardcore/metalcore titans Hatebreed announced their seventh studio album, the news was met by me with a smile and the warm, familiar thought of some new Hatebreed to drive around quite fast to. 2013’s ‘The Divinity Of Purpose’ did seem to me to be a flawed record – lacking the truly cutting edge that the band can offer; at their best, there is still no one who can quite fill the void Hatebreed manage to do with consummate ease.
The good news is that ‘The Concrete Confessional’ is a return to form – and then some. Without hyperbole, it is the best album they’ve put out since 2003’s ‘The Rise of Brutality’. Advance video ‘A.D’ – the album opener – set the tone and set the bar high – in fact, throughout the 34 minutes of this album, there is no filler – no ‘beatdown by numbers’ filler that peppered the last record. ‘Looking Down The Barrel Of Today’ (my March track of the month after it featured in the album trailer video) is an absolute metalcore anthem – infectious beyond belief with a riff to match. ‘In The Walls’ is a nasty, nasty affair – making me think of how Hatebreed might sound if they tried to write a Rollins era Black Flag track.
There is the odd sprinkling of melodic vocal and ganged ‘woahs’ throughout the record (‘Remember When’) – the only tiny issue for me is when, for a minute or two, things veer a bit too close to 2001 and some nu-metal track, but mainly the melody is a sign that this album might be vocalist Jamey Jasta’s finest hour.
That there is only one track on the album that touches three minutes tells you about the immediacy of the album; the flow through from ‘Seven Enemies’ – after ‘Looking Down The Barrel Of Today’ has reeled you in – through to penultimate track ‘Dissonance’ seems to make the album go by almost too quickly. Album close ‘Serve Your Masters’ is a dark and brooding affair, adding an extra dimension.
I don’t see a Hatebreed fan alive being disappointed with this one; maybe, just maybe, it’ll convert a few other people too.
MIKE SCOTT