Four years is a long time to go between albums, but when you're working from a relatively unchanging, traditionalist template it's probably not a bad idea to step away for a few years and allow things to freshen up again; it's certainly possible to overstay one's welcome. Hatebreed have historically managed to give the fans what they want while avoiding the impression of repeating themselves, and The Divinity of Purpose definitely maintains the band's slugging percentage.
"Who's got more heart than you?" Jamey Jasta asks at the beginning of "Own Your World", a battle hardened alternative to those smarmy daily affirmations you're used to seeing on your Facebook wall every morning. The answer? "NO ONE!". Of course.
This is the Hatebreed ethos in a nutshell: fight back, life's too short for compromise, two fists are better than one. The band largely get by on an enthusiastic, bootstrapping "can do" attitude although, granted, there's probably a case of diminishing returns with vague, rallying cry lyrics such as "sometimes standing for what you believe / means standing alone"… you know, seeing as how this is roughly the subject of every Hatebreed song ever written; but if nothing else even hard-to-please old codgers like me can agree upon the upwardly mobile, ascendant energy of Jasta's conviction. This is music for visceral release, not armchair pontificating.
At a lean 38 minutes, Divinity of Purpose's value is largely a result of its compact, no frills lack of pointless interludes and general effluvia. There's nothing here that couldn't conceivably find its way into one of the band's pit-heavy concerts. The Biohazard-friendly gang shout chorus of "Before the Fight Ends You" was custom designed to get the crowds pumped, and if the band have any built in limitations that would be the only chink in their armor: with each Hatebreed album seemingly written with the self conscious purpose of maintaining a tightly flowing concert experience, this stuff by intent isn't exactly multifaceted.
But it serves exactly the function it was intended for, which is to keep the fists pumping and the spirits high. A ballad would almost seem like a betrayal at this point. At the same time, there's a uniformity of both quality and sound in the band's catalog that thwarts preference, although such uniformity should never be mistaken for coasting. Hatebreed are back, and they're as good – if not perceptibly better – as they've ever been.
8/10
The Divinity of Purpose is out January 29 on Razor & Tie. Stream the entire album at Hatebreed.com.
[youtube]http://youtu.be/ozd-T2k6_JE[/youtube]
