#17: HATEBREED – PERSEVERANCE
SPECIAL GUEST BLOGGER AMY SCIARRETTO OF ROADRUNNER RECORDS AND NOISECREEP
We recently polled a wide array of musicians, managers, publicists, label reps, and writers from within the world of metal to find out what they thought the 21 Best Metal Albums of the 21st Century So Far have been. Eligible albums were released between January 1, 2000 and April 1, 2009. Each panelist turned in a ballot, with their #1 album worth 21 points, their #2 album worth 20 points, and so on and so forth. The ballots are now in and we’ll be counting down one album a day until we reach #1. Today we present the #17 album, coming in with a total of 113 points…
Hatebreed, Perseverance (Universal, 2002)
Jamey Jasta – Vocals
Sean Martin – Guitars
Lou “Boulder” Richards – Guitars
Chris Beattie – Bass
Matt Byrne – Drums
Produced by Matt Hyde
It took five years – FIVE!!! – for Hatebreed to follow up their classic, 26-minute opus, Satisfaction is the Death of Desire, with Perseverance. Making the fans wait till they were starved and parched probably would have served the band well even if the music wasn’t so toe-to-the-nuts, knuckle-draggingly brutal. Hatebreed fans were so desperately desiring new tunes from the band as we waited in the wings while Hatebreed wrestled themselves away from their label, Victory Records.
Perseverance was probably one of the first albums of the so-called New Wave of American Metal movement that achieved impressive, high-watermark sales. It blew the doors off the semi-dormant, somewhat sleepy metal scene, which was recovering from the flood of corporate-sponsored nu metal and a heavy infusion of mookishness into metal. In essence, this was the anti-Limp Bizkit record, one that didn’t explore or experiment with trends. It was simple, uncompromising and so fucking heavy. Even though it was released via Universal, a major label, it retained all the signature hallmarks of Hatebreed, unfettered and untouched by the major label machine and its marketing tactics.
Perseverance took everything about Hatebreed – those moshtastic breakdowns, Jamey Jasta’s positive lyrical assertions, and basic but belligerent Cro-Magnon riffage – and pushed it to the next level. The production was crisper and clearer, with Jamey’s vocals more forward in the mix. “I Will Be Heard” was clearly an anthem meant to stand the test of time and in the HxCx universe, it truly has. But album opener “Proven” has always been the song that gets my blood pumping at dangerous levels. It’s dark, it’s angry and upbeat all at the same time.
I always say Perseverance is the “gets the red out” record for me. It stops me from wanting to strangle mountain oxes with my bare hands when my temper flares. It helps me get the aggression out and when I’m done, I want to play with a basket of bulldog puppies. The album doesn’t have songs as much as it has short, abrasive blasts of catharsis.
-Amy Sciarretto
Download Perseverance from Amazon or iTunes!
THE LIST SO FAR:
#18 – Lamb of God, New American Gospel
#20 – Shadows Fall, The War Within
#21 – Slipknot, Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses
THE PANEL OF VOTERS
Chris Adler, Lamb of God
Dan And, Bison B.C.
Ben Apatoff, Apatoff for Destruction/Metal Injection
Jason Bittner, Shadows Fall
Tim Brennan, Ferret Music/Channel Zero Entertainment
Freddy Cai, Painkiller Magazine
Ian Christe, Bazillion Points
Reverend David J. Ciancio, Yeah! Management
Betsey Cichoracki, Relapse Records
Paul Conroy, Ferret Music/Channel Zero Entertainment
J. Costa, Thy Will Be Done
Dallas Coyle, ex-God Forbid/Coyle Media
Doc Coyle, God Forbid
CT, Rwake
Anso DF, MetalSucks/Hipsters Out of Metal!
Vince Edwards, Metal Blade Records
Charles Elliott, Abysmal Dawn/Nuclear Blast Records
Brian Fair, Shadows Fall
Leo Ferrante, Warner Music Group
D.X. Ferris, author 33 1/3: Reign in Blood/Freelance Journalist
Mike Gitter, Roadrunner Records
Nick Green, Decibel
Matt Grenier, August Burns Red
Anthony Guzzardo, Earache Records
Kevin Hufnagel, Dysrhythmia
Mark Hunter, Chimaira
Steve Joh, Century Media
EJ Johantgen, Prosthetic Records
Kim Kelly, Metal Injection/Hails & Horns/Freelance Journalist
Josh “The J” Key, Psychostick
Jason Lekberg, Epic Records
Eyal Levi, Daath
Bob Lugowe, Relapse Records
Matt McChesney, The Autumn Offering
Jake McReynolds, Psychostick
Marc Meltzer, The Syndicate
Josh Middleton, Sylosis
Matt Moore, Rumpelstiltskin Grinder
Vince Neilstein, MetalSucks
Sammy O’Hagar, MetalSucks
Anton OyVey, MetalSucks/Bacon Jew
Rob Pasbani, Metal Injection
Alex Preiss, Psychostick
Carlos Ramirez, NoiseCreep/Universal Music Group
Brian Rocha, Fresno Media USA
Jeremy Rosen, Roadrunner Records
Axl Rosenberg, MetalSucks
Satan Rosenbloom, MetalSucks/Cerebral Metalhead
David Bee Roth, MetalSucks
Jason Rudolph, Heavy Hitter, Inc.
Amy Sciarretto, Roadrunner Records/NoiseCreep
Carl Severson, Ferret Music/Channel Zero Entertainment
Gary Suarez, MetalSucks/No Yoko No/Brainwashed
Geoff Summers, The End Records/Crustcake
Bram Teitelman, The Syndicate/Metal Insider
Alisha Turull, Heavy Hitter, Inc.
Christopher R. Weingarten, 1000TimesYes/Freelance Journalist
