The name Hatebreed evokes different emotions from different people. For people who don’t know the band, they feel negatively and assume they are about racial superiority and violence. However, those who know Hatebreed, know they can be one of the most positive and uplifting bands of any genre. Their positivity has been kicking audience’s asses since 1994. Hatebreed’s seventh and latest album, The Concrete Confessional, released through Nuclear Blast worldwide May 13, 2016, is another heavy helping of that positivity.
Now, when I say positivity, I mean it in the Hatebreed sense. It is more of a pissed off, amped up, against oppression, against corruption, self-motivational, “You can’t keep me down,” and “I’ll show you who I am, and what I can be” no whiners type of positivity. Many songs on The Concrete Confessional embody this positivity, but none more so than “Looking Down the Barrel of Today.” This the quintessential Hatebreed jam. “Seven Enemies” expresses a more aggressive form of empathy, and gives new meaning to the saying “walk a mile in my shoes.” “Something’s Off” perfectly encompasses the anxiety that most of us feel from day to day. Oh, and the anti-oppression/anti-corruption stuff I mentioned earlier, they touch on that in “Falling From Grace,” and “The Apex Within.” “A.D.” speaks to the loss of the American dream, and. “Us Against Us” and “In the Walls” hits on more of the endless corruption.
As I wrote in my interview with drummer Matt Byrne, Chris “Zuess” Harris produced the album and helped the band sound as good, if not better than ever. Not only is this one of the heaviest Hatebreed albums to date, it is also one of the best sounding. Plus, with 13 tracks, each no more than three minutes long, it is really easy to play on repeat all day long.
This is not a ground breaking, experimental, moving in a different direction album for Hatebreed. The Concrete Confessional gives us everything we want in a Hatebreed album: hard riffs, heavy grooves, powerful lyrics, and crowd choruses galore, all meant to be played at 11. So, come one come all to The Concrete Confessional so that we may all be forgiven for our sins and worship in the hall of Hatebreed!
Tracklist:
1. A.D.
2. Looking Down the Barrel of Today
3. Seven Enemies
4. In the Walls
5. From Grace We’ve Fallen
6. Us Against Us
7. Something’s Off
8. Remember When
9. Slaughtered in Their Dreams
10. The Apex Within
11. Walking the Knife
12. Dissonance
13. Serve Your Masters
Playing time: 33:37
Release date: May 13, 2016
Label: Nuclear Blast
Website: www.hatebreed.com
Matt Byrne and Chris Zeuss Harris put out a scorcher!