Hatebreed (Deluxe Edition)

iTunes Review

From the apocalyptic explosions and sacrilegious symbols gracing the album art to the ear-bludgeoning tantrums built with dark and sinister production by Chris “Zeuss” Harris, one thing seems clear – these guys are angry. Though frontman Jamey Jasta humbly describes the monstrous music here as an unchanged recipe with a few new ingredients (Megadeth’s axe man Chris Broderick shredding on “Through The Thorns,” for instance), Hatebreed is easily the band’s most evolved (and violent-sounding) outing to date. “Become the Fuse” explodes with a powerful chorus that doesn’t upstage the equally awesome verses, and at just under two-and-a-half minutes long the song is over before you know it, ushering in “Not My Master,” a metalcore mini-epic that lets loose with intimidating gang vocals and drums that approximate wartime artillery fire. The chemistry between new guitar players Wayne Lozinak and Frank Novinec solidifies on this album, especially on the impressive “Undiminished,” an instrumental that recalls the old- school ferocity of Cliff Burton-era Metallica and the congruent guitarmonies of Thin Lizzy.