Mosh 'n' roll
Hatebreed finally follow up their 2003 critically acclaimed album 'The Rise of Brutality' with 'Supremacy'. It's a little difficult to pin this band down, I've seen them be described as hardcore, metalcore, moshcore (whatever that is) and hardcore. Obviously the common denominator in this genre bunk is the word 'core'. I've always seen Hatebreed as a hardcore band myself, because of their lyrical content, image and their brutal, unrelenting style of chord-riff driven metal. The problem with being a hardcore band is that's all you can really be. Fans like the hardcore music because it's angry, pissed off and uncompromising. I'm sure Hatebreed fans would be up in arms and crying sell out if they were to write an epic power ballad, and rightly so. Unfortunately the band is stuck within a rigid genre that not only delivers some sublime metal but also some mediocre moments because of the same ideas being regurgitated over and over. This, for this reviewer at least, perfectly sums up this Hatebreed album. It's great for what it's worth, but its worth is only twenty minutes of quality, in-your-face metal and not the thirty-six minutes on offer.
Of course Hatebreed is one of the front runners of the 'core' scenes and it's easy to hear why. Opener 'Defeatist' is perhaps the best thing I've heard the band produce. It's fast, angry and heavy as fuck, and has that added bonus of slowing into an almost perfect 'mosh' section at the 1:37 mark. It's a wonderful musical trick, Anthrax used to be masters at this particular skill, and I think Hatebreed are almost as good. 'Horrors of Self' follows a similar structure, with the grind part hitting 1:42 which utilises an even better slow mosh inducing riff. Third track, 'Mind Over All' is another fast paced track (like the other two) but its middle mosh riffing kicks in at the 1:11 mark. It's another belting idea, but you do start to see a pattern emerge. Without the use of solos or musical wizardry, Hatebreed use such rhythmical techniques to fill the void, and most of the time they work a treat. Thankfully 'To The Threshold' is a change in structure but has no redeeming features to make it stand out, as does 'Give Wings To My Triumph'. 'Destroy Everything' picks the standard up with a great groove and an infectious rhythmical vocal grind from Jamey Jasta.
All of the above wouldn't have the same impact on the listener if 'Supremacy' sounded like a 9-pin dot matrix printer set to a drum beat. Thankfully the production of Zeuss is spot on. The drums are loud but controlled and the guitars are extremely thick sounding, perhaps part in thanks to new guitarist Frank Novinec. Jamey Jasta's vocals are brutally honest as ever. There's little room, in fact there's no room at all, for anything that isn't a shout or a growl. Anything less from this man would water down the Hatebreed sound. But for the casual fan it's a double-edged sword because it allows for a sense of monotony. Towards the end of the album the songs start to melt into one. The ideas are acceptable, but it highlights the 'rigid genre' problem mentioned earlier in this review. But then again that's hardcore, it does exactly what it's supposed to. It speaks in short angry pockets to the disgruntled kids of the world, and on that level 'Supremacy' rips. If you're expecting anything more from Hatebreed, or hoping they're going to break down a few boundaries then you'll be disappointed, because I hear very little on this disk that we haven't already heard before from the band. It's like a priest preaching to the already converted, thankfully Hatebreed have enough fans and sufficient quality in their music to see them right for another few years until the next album. Time to mosh.