Hatebreed – “The Concrete Confessional” [Album Review]

Firing out of the starting blocks with the Slayer-esque “A.D”, The Concrete Confessional sees Connecticut metal titans Hatebreed at their most visceral. Possibly the most vicious thing the band have recorded, “A.D.”, it’s safe to say, sets the bar ridiculously high for the rest of this their seventh offering.

Now, being Hatebreed, you’ll pretty much know what to expect from Jamey Jasta and his bandmates but, this time around, there seems to be an extra ounce of ferocity to the way they dish out the likes of “Looking Down The Barrel Of Today” and “Remember When”. Maybe it is the lyrical content, where The Concrete Confessional sees Jasta spitting about topics like social injustice and police brutality, which gives the material that extra punishment or maybe it’s that, for the most part, The Concrete Confessional sees Hatebreed just dishing out an absolute shitload of premium quality, Slayer-inspired riffery. Either way, when combined, the mix of Slayeresque thrash, old-school hardcore and furious lyrics is utterly devastating.

Now it wouldn’t be Hatebreed without a good dose of mosh-inspired breakdowns and The Concrete Confessional has plenty of those to keep hardened Hatebreed pit-dogs happy. In fact, the sight of the Hatebreed legion losing their shit when the chugging “Walking The Knife” kicks in is going to be one to behold. The Concrete Confessional is a glorious listen for a metal fan so much so that, while the Slayer influence is plain to see, is it wrong these days to say that Hatebreed do this sort of thing so much better?

Track Listing:

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

Run Time: 33:36
Release Date: May 13, 2016

Check out the track “Looking Down The Barrel Of Today”