The first opportunity to get the lowdown on everything you need to know about the new Hatebreed album!

Become The Fuse
An unusual but killer opening to ‘Hatebreed’. The hardcore brutality and the call-and-answer verses are familiar but there’s more groove than we’re used to, there’s a section that’s dominated by bass guitar and there’s a less rigid song structure to ‘Become the Fuse’.

Not My Master
A typical slab of Hatebreed brutality but again, there’s a bit more depth to the guitar work. The call to arms of “denounce! Denounce!” is going to ignite the fist-throwing in the pit and there’s a seriously metal beatdown towards the end of the track. Who does beatdowns better than Hatebreed? Nobody does beatdowns better than Hatebreed!

Between Hell And A Heartbeat
The intro sounds like something off of Slayer’s ‘Seasons In The Abyss’. It’s a sure-fire sign that while Hatebreed’s sound remains unmistakable, there’s a lot more metal leanings on this record. The lead riff itself is punishing, widdling and havoc-wreaking and the subtle lead guitar lines are killer. Welcome to Hatebreed 2009!

In Ashes They Shall Reap
An anthem up their with ‘Live For This’, ‘Perseverance’, ‘Defeatist’ and ‘Destroy Everything’. The shout along of “Born to bleed, fighting to succeed, built to endure what this world throws at me!” is going to become a staple of Hatebreed’s set for the rest of their career. Step back, this one is going to blow. Hell yeah!

Hands Of A Dying Man
A thrash-metal diamond that’s sure to bring the rage! This one could become Hatebreed’s ‘Fucking Hostile’. There’s a solo that will melt your face and this lays claim to be one of the heaviest tracks of Hatebreed’s career. Again, the beatdown is nothing short of incredible.

Everyone Bleeds Now
A hark back to their ‘Perseverance’ heyday, ‘Everyone Bleeds Now’ cruises along on a kick-ass hardcore riff before upping the pace. We’re famed for saying that Hatebreed are about as perfect as hardcore gets and this is a prime reason why. The sludgy last 15 seconds tears shit up in the most savage fashion possible.

No Halos For The Heartless
A colossal “wooooooooah” vocal line introduces the track and is a fixture all the way through. A chugging stop-start riff leads the track and the chorus is huge! The double-kick drum that dominates the beatdown sounds like a gorilla going to town on a punching bag.

Through The Thorns
A chorus that sounds like Slipknot’s ‘I Am Hated’ in amongst the usual cut and thrusting riffing. Another slice of Hatebreed’s metal side and it’s another MASSIVE chorus to sink your teeth in to.

Every Lasting Scar
Hats off to Mr Jasta on this one, the way he rides the riffs throughout this track attains a level of flow and bounce that puts him ahead of the chasing hardcore pack. The chorus has the closest thing he’s ever come to ‘singing’ and it’s catchy as the swine flu down in Mexico. Again, it’s something new for Hatebreed and it’s another success in branching out their sound.

As Damaged As Me
“When you’re as damaged as me, you know you’re too fucked for words!” rages Jasta on this full-blooded track. The beatdown that follows the first chorus remains the foundations of Hatebreed’s strength and the added guitar artistry and shred on the final riff of the album is stunning. It’s just an extension of everything that makes this band as great as they are.

Words Became Untruth
There’s echoes of Black Flag’s out-and-out punk rock fury for the first minute or so before chugging bass and pit-exploding savagery kicks in.

Undiminished
An epic lead-guitar line opens ‘Undiminished’ and, unless our ears deceive us, there are subtle keyboard lines in the background too. It’s a Hatebreed instrumental track that ends with a tinkering piano. We bet you thought that you’d never hear those words! The first two minutes are jam-packed with stirring lead guitars backed up by chunky powerchords. It’s a gutsy move and hats off to the boys for taking that chance.

Merciless Tide
Hatebreed’s Slayer tendencies run riot on ‘Merciless Tide’. Again, it’s those lead guitars that really impress. Stunning short bursts of lead guitars give Hatebreed’s attack an extra dimension and should definitely become a regular fixture in their arsenal for the foreseeable future.

Pollution Of The Soul
Groove is the order of the day on the intro riff and the lead guitars that dominate the backing track of ‘Pollution Of the Soul’ make it SO much more effective when the chug kicks back in. The deliver of the line “defy it all!” nails it and just has to end up on the back of a t-shirt!

In short, Hatebreed haven’t reinvented the wheel on their self-titled effort. They’ve stuck to what they are the best around at (the best beatdowns around + unrelenting aggression = kick-ass record), whilst adding extra dimensions to their attack through the odd catchy vocal line and a hell of a lot of shred from returning guitarist

If you’re a Hatebreed fan, the boys have delivered yet another hardcore masterpiece but they’ve added a shedload more metal to their attack. If you dismissed the bands as one-trick ponies, ‘Hatebreed’ will spit that assumption back in your face.