Take It to the Limit

Take It to the Limit is the second studio album of rock band Hinder. The album has been in the works since January 2008 and was released November 4, 2008 on Universal Motown Records. The album was recorded by Jay Van Poederooyen and produced by Brian Howes at Van Howes Studios in Vancouver, BC, Canada. The record was mixed by Chris Lord-Alge at Mix LA in Tarzana, California, USA. It has a much heavier glam metal and a lesser post-grunge influence than their last album, while retaining the elements of hard rock that the band had previously used. The album has been certified Gold by the RIAA. he first single, "Use Me", was released to radio on July 7, 2008, with a digital download release on July 15, 2008. "Heaven Sent" was performed at Hinder concerts dating back to 2007; however, the song was originally called "Heaven Lost You" when it was first performed. Although critical reactions to the album have been mostly negative, it was received better than their debut. It received a 49/100 score on Metacritic. Entertainment Weekly gave a grade of C+ and cited their lack of originality and contrasting song styles of hard rock and ballads. Chris Willman explained, "If you were ever young and in love, dumb with drink, and had a head swimming with not just Boone's Farm wine but also Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, and AC/DC (to name these guys' most blatant anthemic influences), you may be willing to forgive Hinder's lack of originality and preponderance of madonna/whore issues." He summed up by saying "If only the whiplash they induce resulted from real headbanging, not from trying to follow Hinder's song-to-song indecision about whether to be studs or wimps." In a more positive review Hard Rock Hideout gave it 4.5 out of five stars saying that "Take It To The Limit is a stronger album from start to finish than the band’s debut." and that " Hinder is one of the bands leading the revival for straight up rock-n-roll and “Take It To The Limit” is going to go a long way in helping the cause." Many have criticized the originality of the album, saying many of the lyrical themes were similar to many snap music rap albums (especially the Dem Franchize Boyz album On Top Of Our Game), and the sound sounded similar to many 1980's glam metal bands.