Hatebreed - The Divinity of Purpose
Nuclear Blast
Hardcore
12 songs (37'06'')
Release year: 2013
Nuclear Blast
Reviewed by Jared

Before I can begin this review I have to make one thing clear about my history of listening to this band. To put it straightforward, I have no familiarity with the band whatsoever so I had no possible way to expect what I was going to hear. I have only overheard peoples’ “love” for this great band from the United States but I never once made any attempt to give them a chance. The band, being around since 1994, has seen a lot of popularity especially around the area I live. I’ve heard nothing but praise and respect for the band, but it only made me more resilient to even listen to their new album. The reason being is that most metal popular in my hometown would only mean they would probably have a Killswitch Engage or Slipknot sound in most cases. Diving into Hatebreed was a long time coming for me. And I couldn’t be more disappointed with its result.

To start off, I walked into listening to the album with the most open mind possible, as I do with all the music I listen to. To be honest, I really wanted to enjoy this record from beginning to end but no song grabbed my attention, no guitar riffs knocked me off my feet, and the vocals felt the most unpolished and boring I had heard probably in the last five years. For starters I was not the least bit impressed with any aspect of Jamey Jasta’s vocal performance whatsoever. The vocals barely had any variation of any song on the album. The entire record felt as though he literally screamed the entire album with the same tone throughout. To make up for lack of standout vocals, the album did contain instances of chants during sections of songs which attempted to create a “manly feel” to things. This I was also equally unimpressed with.

The guitar work on the album was also equally boring for me during my listen. The guitars lacked the use of any high strings. I was only able to conclude that the band could probably have recorded the entire album with only the three lowest strings. As a fellow guitar enthusiast, I could only feel nothing but an extreme nauseated sickness in my stomach. Getting through every song almost felt like a chore. Some people, depending on your favorite styles of metal, may disagree whole heartedly with my negativity towards this album. But in all honesty I did not enjoy this record at all from start to finish. Knowing the band was coming off of a four year break only made me think I was going to listen to a band that was ready to deliver a surprise to my metal collection. The album, with 12 songs, only reaches over 37 minutes. I know it is probably pointless to mention because the songs and time of the album are always listed above, but I could not wonder why with such a long break they were only able to deliver such a short album. On top of that, it is a completely boring album.

If this album is any indication of what Hatebreed sounds like on previous records, I’ll take my interests elsewhere. After listening to the album about four or five times during the week, even then I was unable to find myself satisfied with it in any area. I’m sure Hatebreed fans will more than likely evoke a strong love for the album. However, I will never to be able to feel in such a way towards this record, or for that matter the band. There are plenty better metal bands I can be devoting my time with.

Killing Songs :
None
Jared quoted 34 / 100
Koeppe quoted 40 / 100
Other albums by Hatebreed that we have reviewed:
Hatebreed - The Rise Of Brutality reviewed by Danny and quoted 40 / 100
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