Hatebreed For The Lions: Like Hatebreed, Only Better

Hatebreed is one of those bands I really like. However I realize that they are not technical by any aspect, but true hardcore never really was. I’m ok with that. While some people may talk trash about them because the riffs are always simple and repetitive, I enjoy it for what it is supposed to be; hard, heavy and abrasive music with nor frills. Just balls to the wall, fist pumping music.

With that said, I’ve been listening to the new Hatebreed covers album, For The Lions. Hatebreed, while not adding much of their own flavor to it makes the songs, well, sound like Hatebreed doing covers. The difference is you get to hear a little variety with solos and some vocal changes from your normal Hatebreed sound, hence the title.

The Slayer cover is good, as is the Metallica cover of Escape, where you get to hear Jamie actually sing a little in the chorus. The cover of the Misfits Hatebreeder is really cool and by the way, there are solos in all the songs that would normally have solos. I mentioned awhile back that I really dig the cover of Sepultura’s Refuse/Resist and their cover of Madball’s classic Set It Of is a great tribute to the NY Hardcore vets.

All the songs on the cover album are well done. The only exception I would say is the cover of Obituary’s I’m In Pain. It’s not easy to cover and emulate Obituaries sounds, especially John Tardy’s unique vocals, so with Jasta singing it it sounds a bit strange, almost out of touch. You just don’t get that classic Tardy growl.

The great thing about cover albums is that they can often ignite interest from younger fans in to the older bands that the band has covered, especially the older, no longer existing bands. Some of the bands that some of the newer metal and hardcore fans may write off simply because that’s what “The old guys” are listening to. They may hear the cover and gain interest and go searching through back catalogs of Sepultura, Slayer, The Misfits Madball, Cro-mags, Black Flga and so on.

All in all this is a good, solid cover album that shows great tributes to the bands that influenced. Also, these aren’t songs that you’re going to find on older Hatebreed albums, singles or b-sides, like Children Of Bodom’s upcoming cover album. If you’re a Hatebreed fan you’ll enjoy For The Lions. If you’re not a Hatebreed fan and perhaps never have been then you probably haven’t even read this far anyway, so you probably won’t like it.