UMUR "The Concrete Confessional" is the 7th full-length studio album by US hardcore act Hatebreed. The album was released through Nuclear Blast Entertainment in May 2016. It´s the successor to "The Divinity of Purpose" from 2013 and features the same lineup as the predecessor. "The Concrete Confessional" was produced by Chris "Zeuss" Harris. "Zeuss" has produced every album by Hatebreed since "The Rise of Brutality (2003)".

Stylistically "The Concrete Confessional" features few surprises if you´re already familiar with the last couple of albums by Hatebreed. It´s aggressive and groove laden hardcore featuring quite a few thrash metal styled riffs (Slayer often comes to mind, when isolating the riffs). Lead vocalist Jamey Jasta has a powerful and raw delivery, which is slightly one-dimensional (save for a short clean vocal part on "Something's Off"), but very effectful. In true hardcore style the lyrics are dealing with subjects like corruption, political issues, social injustice, and how to overcome personal problems.

The material on the 13 track, 33:28 minutes long album is generally memorable and well written. Most tracks are instantly catchy and you can shout along to them almost immediately. The quality is generally high but there are some tracks which stand out more than others, and some tracks which aren´t fully up to par with the best material on the album. It´s not that there´s anything bad on the album, but some tracks just feel a bit like filler. But maybe it has more to do with the relatively one-dimensional nature of the tracks, and the fact that my attention begins to wander about half way through the album, because of lack of variation between tracks. So it´s a more overall stylistic issue than an issue with individual tracks. When that is said the short playing time and generally short length of the tracks help "The Concrete Confessional" to be an entertaining album through most of the playing time. I´d mention the two opening tracks "A.D." and "Looking Down the Barrel of Today" and the closing track "Serve Your Masters" as some of the highlights of the album.

The sound production is clear, detailed, and very powerful. The massive heavy sound is perfectly designed for the music. Upon conclusion "The Concrete Confessional" is another quality release by Hatebreed and they prove once again why they are such a prolific act on the scene. As mentioned I could have wished for a bit more variation in the songwriting department, but it´s nothing too serious and looked upon individually every track on the album is entertaining and well written, so a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is fully deserved.

siLLy puPPy It’s amazing how many different genre titles this hybrid music from HATEBREED takes on. Whether you call it hardcore punk, metallic hardcore, crossover thrash, hardcore and crust, beatdown hardcore or simply metal core, one thing is for sure…. this is for the mosh pit lovers. I have to admit that this kind of hybrid music may not be of my all time favorites but how can i resist it when it is done so well as is the case on the debut album SATISFACTION IS THE DEATH OF DESIRE. On this album we don’t get any pretension of this and then giving you that. It is all pretty clear from note one that aggression is the theme and that is exactly what is delivered and delivered quite well may i add.

The tracks are all short and to the point. In fact the fourteen tracks with the longest being a whopping 2:38 only amount to 25:45 in duration. There is no time for anything even remotely slow and sentimental here. This is 100% pure adrenaline for the entire duration. Jamey Jasta has the perfect mosh vocals for this music and although the thrashiness has a Pantera-esque feel to it at times, the band never goes too far in any direction where they feel like a clone of any other. Punk and metal form a perfect marriage on this short but sweet recording and although i’m not super familiar with this band’s output, i have become enamored enough from this debut to check out more. Headbanging with no mercy is what you will get and if you’re in the right mood it will scratch that itch like a nimble claw on your favorite pet.

Kingcrimsonprog Hatebreed’s 2013 album The Divinity Of Purpose is their sixth full-length studio album of original material. It follows up their 2009 Self Titled album which expanded the band’s sound a little and it is the first Hatebreed album to come out after Jasta’s self-titled 2011 solo album, which took the core Hatebreed sound and made it a lot more commercial and melodic sounding.

The Divinity Of Purpose at first appearances seems like something of a reaction against both of those records. If you look at the beginning and end of the record it is arguably their fasted, heaviest and most direct album to date. There is a lot less deviation from the established Hatebreed sound, and songs are all pretty brief and straight-forward. There are still chanting backing vocals, crunchy guitars, grooves and breakdowns of course, it is a Hatebreed album after all, but the band seem to be in the mood for the fast, loud and angry side of music this time around. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to say that they’ve taken more of a Slayer influence this time around.

With that being said; the record isn’t devoid of absolutely all variety whatsoever, and from about the halfway point the band start changing things up a little. `Dead Man Breathing’ for example, sounds like something from their Self Titled album, and is one of the slowest moments here. The title-track is a little reminiscent of `I Will Be Heard’ after a fashion and `Indivisible’ has a punky feel to it.

Highlights include `The Language’ which has some fun lead guitar briefly, as well as the aforementioned `Indivisible’ and the very catchy `Nothing Scars Me Anymore’ which is sure to become a live favourite.

The album was produced by Zeuss again, and as such sounds fantastic. If you are expecting something drastically, drastically different to what the band have released before you may be disappointed. Its more of the same, with even less surprises than usual and yet it’s a damn good album. The band are still brilliant at what they do and just know how to make this style of music sound good. This is another set of songs in their trademark style, so its logically going to be a very good album. Even with that `know what to expect’ idea that follows Hatebreed around, it has its own place in their catalogue thanks to its especially straight forward, hard-hitting nature and I recommend it if you like the band.

**Oh, and if you found this review by search engine, when you discover it again on Amazon it is me posting it. It hasn’t been copied and pasted off here by a stranger, I post my reviews on Amazon as ‘Gentlegiantprog “Kingcrimsonprog.”’ So please don’t unhelpful-vote it because you thought it was stolen from me.**

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.

Kingcrimsonprog Hatebreed are effective if nothing else, they really get the task done and done well. It is a mistake to dismiss the band for their simple riffs because what the riffs are is not simple but rather effective. Hatebreed deliver the maximum possible effect in the most direct and vital fashion. Jamie Jasta's refreshingly positive lyrical approach may seem cheesy to the jaded and cynical but the man certainly knows how to write memorable sing along moments designed specifically to make you feel good about yourself which I for one find commendable.

Each Hatebreed album is a different approach to the same very effective formula, with different albums concentrating more on one aspect of the band's sound than another but still very much retaining that Hatebreed sound. Rise of Brutality sits in the position of perhaps being the most strict with the formula, there are no punkier numbers, no thrashier numbers and no instrumentals, every song is a perfectly constructed Hatebreed anthem with hard edge, a sing along chorus and a big breakdown. This may not be the album to consider if you are tired of every song sounding exactly the same, but if enjoy what Hatebreed do best then this album contains the most songs directly in that exact style.

The production isn't the clearest of all, but is by no means poor. The album as a whole sounds very dense and low end which is a good style for a band like Hatebreed although not one which you will find on the rest of their albums which favour a clearer and crisper production style.

If you are new to Hatebreed and are wondering which of their albums is right for you, the key points in favour of Rise of Brutality are the singles 'This is Now,' and 'Live For This,'along with fan favourite songs 'Doomsayer,' and 'Beholder of Justice.'

To summarise this is a very good album and perhaps the most definitive example of Hatebreed's musical style, it is highly recommended to existing fans of the band is is a pretty good album to make your first Hatebreed record.