The Divinity of Purpose

Anyone who feared that Hatebreed was going the way of doom metal due to the lumbering tempos on its 2009 eponymous album is in for a surprise. According to frontman Jamey Jasta, the metalcore quintet’s sixth studio album was crafted for the pit. The opening single, “Put It to the Torch,” is an instant jolt of fisticuff-friendly aggression. At just more than two minutes, the song explodes with Wayne Lozinak and Frank Novinec blasting thrash-metal riffs alongside a rhythm section approximating an old-school hardcore-punk foundation played at hyper speeds. Similarly, the following “Honor Never Dies” is a solid reminder that many of today’s kindred acts need to step up their games. Over a skull-bludgeoning sonic attack, Jasta wails anthemic war cries and a resonant credo of inner strength: "Sometimes standing for what you believe/Means standing alone." Both the title track and “Nothing Scars Me” are prime examples of Hatebreed’s style of layering new textures against a groundwork rooted in the bygone punk assault of Rollins-era Black Flag and early Suicidal Tendencies.