Band:	Hatebreed
Album:	The Concrete Confessional
Style:	Hardcore, Metalcore
Release date:	May 13, 2016
Guest review by:	Cynic Metalhead

01. A.D.
02. Looking Down The Barrel Of Today
03. Seven Enemies
04. In The Walls
05. From Grace We've Fallen
06. Us Against Us
07. Something's Off
08. Remember When
09. Slaughtered In Their Dreams
10. The Apex Within
11. Walking The Knife
12. Dissonance
13. Serve Your Masters

For 22 relentless years, Hatebreed has stomped along a straight and narrow musical path, holding fast to their muscular strain of metallic hardcore that capitulates to the law of monotonous returns. They consistently bellow motivational slogans and snarling threats over crunching, low-slung riffs, and have proven to be one of the most indomitable forces in last two decades. With The Concrete Confessional, Hatebreed offers a take on their tried-and-true assault that detours from the usual bulldozing.

Right from the opener “A.D.”, it’s clear that the band is sharper and more tuned-in than ever. The speedy riffs and street-stomping breakdowns rage ferally. Even by their own standard, this is Hatebreed at their heaviest; “Dissonance”, “Walking The Knife”, and “Seven Enemies” display metallic hardcore chomps funneled through groove metal that compel you to be inside the moshpit. This is somewhat reflective of "Something’s Off" and ‘Slaughtered In Their Dreams" as well, albeit with more explosive choruses. Trying to capture the essence of detectable influences, "Looking Down The Barrel Of Today" is a slight nod to Slayer, while "The Apex Within" blazes a trail of slow-burning killer thrash with Misfits trimmings.

Hatebreed draws heavily from two ballsy hardcore subgenres in slam and beatdown, and has commanded the genre to bolster a legacy of dominance. As this album pierces your ears at 200 miles/hr to fit itself into 33 minutes, it will be tricky for one to periscope the nuances here. By the time of the final song of the album, “Serve Your Masters", you will be unfazed by what's left at the end of a hard-hitting, furious, pulverizing trail blazed in their wake.

The Concrete Confessional, in a lot of senses, resembles other Hatebreed albums. The band strikes a near-perfect balance between metal and hardcore, with such grace and perspicacity that it seems crazy they’ve been tearing it apart for over two decades. With monotonous, fist-pumping, mosh-inducing soundtracks, and no variations in structure and depth, the album does still have replay value. True, their sound has scarcely strayed from its roots over the years, yet the bottom line remains: The Concrete Confessional is an unstoppable juggernaut.

Highlights: “Dissonance”, “Walking The Knife”, and “Seven Enemies”