Hatebreed is a metalcore band from Bridgeport, Connecticut consisting of drummer Matt Bryne, rhythm guitarist Frank Novinec, lead guitarist Wayne Lozinak & frontman Jamey Jasta. Making their debut in 1997 with Satisfaction’s the Death of Desire & returning in 2002 for the Universal Music Group-backed sophomore effort Perseverance, having Rob Zombie’s engineer Zeuss produce The Rise of Brutality resulted in having him stay behind the boards for Supremacy, self-titled, The Divinity of Purpose, The Concrete Confessional & their previous full-length Weight of the False Self. 6 years later & they’re getting back together for their 9th studio LP.
“Kill Count Increase” fuses metalcore, crossover thrash, groove metal & beatdown hardcore to sing about anyone getting it once they’re in the crosshairs whereas “The Carrion Choir” leans towards a thrashier vibe calling for everyone to remember who they are. “Decisions Become Destinies” maintains the thrash elements so they can sing about what happens if one follows where the hunt leads just before “Total Invincible” explains what the code demands.
The title track combines groove metal & metallic hardcore singing about cowards doing everything to keep people on their knees leading into “Still a Threat” kicking off the 2nd half speaking of being counted out by some although they’re not done until they say they are. “Sacrifice Season” featuring Obituary frontman John Tardy brings us to a place where dreams die & prayers get silenced while “Truth’s a Lion” poses the question of how many times can we be told not to believe our eyes.
“Make the Demons Obey” nears towards the conclusion of Fatal Paradox balancing the elements of metalcore & crossover thrash angrily talking about not living to please anyone or have any fear while the final song if you exclude the cover of “Poison Planet” by Corrosion of Conformity spends the remaining 7 minutes of the album at it’s core conveying the observation of there having “None Left to Save” & everyone bleeding the same.
A lot of people generally feel like the material Hatebreed & Zeuss have done since The Rise of Brutality has been average at best but as someone who doesn’t mind their output in the last 2 decades other than the For the Lions collection of covers they did towards the end of 2000s, I wouldn’t place Fatal Paradox above The Weight of False Self & The Divinity of Purpose because of Jamey’s commentary analyzing the world around him & his place in it along with the secondary influences of crossover thrash, groove metal, beatdown hardcore & thrash metal being incorporated.
Score: 4/5
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