HATEBREED ‘Fatal Paradox’

HATEBREED
Fatal Paradox
BLKIIBLK Records

You know that point in the night when the band hits the stage, the first heavy riff comes through the speakers, and people start making room on the floor? That is where ‘Fatal Paradox’ takes me. You can practically see the bodies moving when these breakdowns hit. Now, at 50, my ass is not getting in that pit. I remember those nights, though, and I will happily watch you fools go at it from a spot where I can keep my beer upright! Before getting into the songs, I have to give Jamey Jasta his props. I have seen him at Milwaukee Metal Fest with JASTA, seen him there with fucking S.O.D., and watched him with HATEBREED multiple times. The guy puts himself out there for this music, and everything he does to keep the hardcore and metal community moving deserves recognition! There is work involved in keeping people connected to this scene, getting bands in front of audiences, and giving fans reasons to keep showing up. Jasta puts in that work. The rest of HATEBREED are right there crushing it with him, and you can hear their commitment throughout this record.

What I appreciate about HATEBREED is that they have stayed true to who they are and what they believe in. Their political views, their frustration with the world, and their belief in picking your brother up; all feed into these songs. You might come for the breakdowns, but there is something behind them. That matters to me. A good hardcore show can take whatever miserable shit followed you through the door and give you somewhere to put it for an hour. You leave sweaty, exhausted, and hopefully a little better than when you arrived. ‘Fatal Paradox’ understands that feeling. The production gives the guitars plenty of weight, Matt Byrne’s drums hit hard, and Jasta sounds fucking good! You get crushing chugs and breakdowns without losing the songs underneath them. Across roughly thirty-five minutes, the band gives you plenty of opportunities to lose your mind! I will be participating through aggressive head nodding and occasionally moving my beer out of your way.

“Kill Count Increase” feels like the start of the set when everybody stops talking and turns toward the stage. It establishes the record’s heavier atmosphere while the lyrics walk through the process of reducing a person to a target. Observation, distance, calculation everything becomes procedure, and whatever conscience might have been involved gets pushed aside. That coldness makes it an effective opener! “The Carrion Choir” brings the focus closer to home, and it is one of my favorites. The image of scavengers circling somebody’s wounds gives the song a nasty edge, but its heart is in refusing to let those voices decide your worth. “Remember who you are” is the kind of line I want to hear coming back from the crowd. When life has been beating the shit out of you all week, sometimes a room full of people yelling something that simple feels pretty fucking good! “Decisions Become Destinies” builds on that connection. “Throw me to the wolves, I’m coming back with a pack” is a favorite line because it captures the brotherhood behind this music. Somebody goes down, you pick them up. Somebody is struggling, you help carry the weight. These days, if I go down, we might need to discuss my deductible, but I still appreciate the principle.

“Total Invincible” takes us into a colder world of programmed aggression and machines carrying out destruction without conscience. The language is mechanical, and the song fits into the album’s concern with what happens when human life stops having value. There is plenty here for the floor, but the lyrics give that aggression a disturbing setting. The title track, “‘Fatal Paradox’,” is another standout for me. It gets into the lies, the factions, and the shit people excuse once they have decided which side they are on. “Hearts remember what flags forget” sticks with me because somebody has to live with the damage after the speeches are over. The verses also bring that damage into the room with you: sleeplessness, pacing, and choices you cannot escape. “Still A Threat” responds with sheer stubbornness. “I’m not done till I say I’m done” needs very little explanation, especially coming from Jasta. You can picture people pushing toward the front when that one hits. I see you in that pit, throwing yourself around like Monday isn’t coming. I’m still over here, where my knees and I agreed to stay.

Then “Sacrifice Season” comes around, and the combination of Jasta and John Tardy is absolutely fucking amazing. This is one of the moments I keep coming back to. Tardy fits the grim atmosphere of the song, and the pairing gives it a character of its own within the record. The lyrics deal with street violence, witnesses keeping quiet, and lives disappearing while the world around them carries on. There is very little comfort in it, which makes the performance feel right for the material. “Truth Is A Lion” moves toward lies and the pressure to deny what you can see with your own eyes. Its central image gives that frustration something physical: open the cage and let the truth defend itself. “Make The Demons Obey” turns the fight toward reclaiming control and refusing to remain somebody else’s prey. This whole stretch has enough weight to keep a live crowd busy. Those chugs and breakdowns are going to do their job when they come through a proper sound system. I can picture exactly where the room is going to open up and where I need to move ten feet farther back. If you catch me pointing toward the pit, I’m acknowledging your enthusiasm. Please do not interpret that as permission to drag my ass into it.

“None Left To Save” is where I have a small reservation. At more than six minutes, it runs longer than I usually want from this kind of hardcore and metal. I tend to like that four-minute range, where you get the build, the payoff, and move on to the next beating. Here, the repetition becomes more noticeable, especially as the title keeps returning. The lyrics give it substance, following war, broken promises, damaged minds, and the people left to absorb the consequences. I understand why the song goes for that prolonged sense of hopelessness, even if I would have been happy with a tighter version. They pull it off, but it is the clearest example of where my attention starts checking the time. Then the CORROSION OF CONFORMITY cover, “Poison Planet,” gives us a quick final blast, and I fucking love it! Its anger over greed and the destruction left for another generation fits the record’s concerns. After the longer preceding track, that short burst is a welcome way to finish.

That familiarity and repetition are really the extent of my complaints. There are passages where you know the turn is coming, and a few places where I would welcome something different before the next breakdown arrives. Hardcore is my thing somedays, but in the bigger picture I do not need every song to scratch exactly the same itch. Still, HATEBREED gives these songs enough conviction that I keep coming back! The production sounds great, the performances deliver, and the lyrics offer more to sit with than a collection of tough-guy declarations. “Decisions Become Destinies,” “The Carrion Choir,” “‘Fatal Paradox’,” and “Sacrifice Season” are my favorites, and the COC cover is a hell of a finishing touch. I love this album. It reminds me why I keep going to these shows and why a room full of people losing their shit to a heavy band can still feel like somewhere I belong. I will be watching you fools from the sidelines, nodding along like I have developed some sense. 
Give Jasta his fucking props, give this band its props, and pick your brother up when he hits the floor. HATEBREED are still crushing it, and ‘Fatal Paradox’ gives us another good reason to show up.

4.0 Out Of 5.0