Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not half bad, a little bit of a surprise there then!, 10 Nov 2003
In the unlikely event that you've read my review of Hatebreed's previous album Perseverance, you'll have seen that I gave it a pretty good slagging on the grounds that it did not have one original moment on it and every single good thing on it was ripped off from Biohazard. However, since I wrote that, my attitude towards them has softened somewhat due to repeated listens, and I now thinks that it isn't that bad of an album at all. This new one still blows it out of the water though. For starters, it's much more Metal in style than it's predecessor, which was strictly Hardcore all the way. This new release 'The Rise Of Brutality' is still strongly Hardcore, but many of the riffs now have a much stronger Metallic flavour to them, and it's to the improvement of the entire record. The painfully clichéd lyrics from 'Perseverance' have largely been cut out as well (sample lyric from 'You're Never Alone' from 'Perseverance'; "This is for the kids who have nowhere to turn, who have nothing to live for, you think you haven't the will to persist, you have to search within yourself". How cheesy do you want it?), so the whole record does not bang on about Hardcore unity and standing up for yourself anymore. Whilst the record is no longer as preachy, it retains it's predecessor's ability to strip paint at 50 paces, as one thing no Hatebreed album could be accused of is lacking extremity. If you like your Metal/Hardcore hybrid to be as heavy and brutal as they come, this is the record for you. With such crushing tracks as 'Tear It Down', 'Straight To Your Face' and 'This Is Now', this is one seriously heavy album. They've certainly converted me and made me into a believer.
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7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brutality, 23 Nov 2003
Hatebreed use the philiosophy that 'if it ain't broke dont fix it' continuing with the same sort of formula that was used in 'Perserverance'. So while you shouldnt be expecting anyhting new, this is still well worth purchasing. Hatebreed are a band on the rise, as the album title suggests, and are the leading band in a new generation of hardcore. Stand out tracks include their single ' This is now' and 'doomsayer' Classic album.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
STRENGTH IN SIMPLICITY!, 26 Jan 2009
Phew, this is heavy! Comparisons are often made to Biohazard - but Hatebreed are less experimental, less hip hop influenced and crucially only employ one vocalist as opposed to Biohazard's 2 pronged attack.
There isn't a great deal of variety, but when is there in Hardcore?!
The genre has it's own limits, but here HB play to the strengths.
The riffs are heavy and fat (slight Death Metal sound at times?), the bass is upfront in the mix, and nice and clanky, the drumming is a level above the norm, with some great bass drums (never overused though) and Jasta's vocals are perfect for this; VERY heavy, and brutal in a low register, but every single word is recognisable - think Henry Rollins meets Evan Seinfeld with a dash of Anselmo, and a Death Metal garnish. I like these vox, nothing else would fit this so well. Lyrics are your standard urban survival/rise above/self improvement themes but let's be honest, tales of Viking battles would be just a little out of place here!
The songs aren't always 100 mph, and do have a groove at times, and crucially the production is of a very high standard. There's no DJ's or samples either - just guitar, bass & drums. No real guitar solos as such -just very heavy rhythm work.
It's under 40 minutes and it's just the right length too.
My personal fav's are Doomsayer, Tear It Down & A Lesson Lived Is A Lesson Learned.
For fans of Biohazard, Rollins Band, Agnostic Front, Machine Head, Pantera, (possibly) Zyklon, and early Slipknot.
Music from the heart, made for the Streets....
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