Kingcrimsonprog Within seconds of album opener `Proven,' bursting out of the speakers at speed, you will have already fallen in love with this album. Perseverance is certainly a classic record and Hatebreed themselves exemplify everything that is right with both Hardcore and Metal, their sound is excellent and they know how to write great songs.

Some listeners may be put off by Jamie Jasta's lyrics or his reliance on sing along moments, but the vast majority of listeners will find the man captivating. Sometimes it is possible to write about vengeance or violence without sounding childish and Jasta has a knack for it.

On 2002's Perseverance; their major label, debut the band were still relatively fresh and were able to write a set of short, straightforward and similarly structured songs without having to worry about diversifying their sound or distinguishing one album from another, as such this is possibly their purest, most streamlined and focused album, no song feels out of place and the pace never lets up.

Title track and single `Perseverance,' is still about the greatest Hatebreed song out there and tracks like `A Call For Blood,' and `Hollow Ground,' still appear in the Hatebreed live show to this day, Perseverance is no throw away album.

The album has a really great guitar tone, very deep, very heavy but with a lot of definition, there is no trade off, this album retains all the heaviness but is never muddy or unclear. In fact; as a whole the entire production job on Perseverance is excellent, almost ahead of its time in many respects. The album doesn't seem to have aged at all.

If you want a straight forward, brutal listening experience you can't go wrong with Perseverance.