The aural punishment continues with “Straight to Your Face”, a no frills romp inspired and dedicated to hardcore legends Agnostic Front and Madball. Just like the lyric, Hatebreed delivers “straight to your face with the truth” and the truth is ugly and brutal. No cutesy bridges or wonderfully melodic guitar solos, just a lethal dose of hate and pain packaged in gut-wrenching riffs, pummeling drums and bludgeoning vocals.

By the time track seven, “A Lesson Lived Is A Lesson Learned”, rolls around, some might begin to question the band’s ability to crank out anything other than a three-minute-or-less hardcore song, but it should also be evident at this point that Jasta and Co. are sticking with their patented formula and don’t give a rat’s ass what anyone thinks about it. Like all the other songs, “A Lesson Lived Is A Lesson Learned” is like swift kick to the head. But lyrically, it’s got more stick-to-your-ribs insight than what you will hear from most bands: A lesson lived is a lesson learned/You’ve got to fend for yourself/A lesson lived is a lesson learned/Everyday is a lesson. Listen up kiddies, because Uncle Jasta is about more than just spitting out hatred.

On the next to last track, Hatebreed offers listeners a choice: “Choose Or Be Chosen”. If you’ve reached this far, you’ve chosen wisely, because the band leads you out with two of the best tracks on this juggernaut. First up is “Choose Or Be Chosen”, which is nothing short of an all-out head-banging assault on the senses. And “Confide In No One”, if anything, should be held up as a model for precision. It all comes together on this track. The drums and strings are in total sync with each other and conjoin with Jasta’s bellowing to create an impenetrable wall of sound.

Whoever accuses this band of softening or selling out needs to get their head checked. Once again, Hatebreed has proven why they’re on top of the pile. The Rise of Brutality is a masterpiece.

---- Eric V. White

Connecticut’s Hatebreed is not one of those bands. After defining the DIY attitude and selling hundreds of thousands of records on their own, they signed to a major label, played on big corporate tours and even found themselves on television regularly. But the quartet bucked the trend and steadfastly stuck to what got them all of that popularity – aggressive, uncompromising metal-tinged hardcore – on their newest release, The Rise of Brutality.

Vocalist (and Headbangers Ball host) Jamey Jasta unleashes furious, poignant lyrics that hit just as hard as drummer Matt Byrne slams his skins. Sean Martin’s guitar and Chris Beattie’s bass provide the anvil to Jasta and Byrne’s hammer as they chug and throb. Lyrics like “if you don’t live for something you’ll die for nothing” and “a lesson lived is a lesson learned, everyday is a lesson” further the band’s positive message of self-empowerment that they have preached from Day No. 1.

Keeping to their trend of throwing on an anthem per album (“Before Dishonor”, "I Will Be Heard"), Rise of Brutality includes “This Is Now”. The new track is guaranteed to get fists pumping, bodies moshing and voices raised along.

The liner notes are a treat, as the band includes some notes as to their inspirations for the songs. Hatebreed is very conscious of their roots, of their friends, and of their families, and they thanked literally hundreds of people on two pages plus. One can hope (and probably would be right) that the band realizes how many hundreds of thousands of fans thank them.

----Scott Olivenbaum