The Concrete Confessional is the seventh studio album by American metalcore band Hatebreed. It was released on May 13, 2016, via Nuclear Blast and was produced by Chris "Zeuss" Harris.
Background The album was included in Rolling Stone’s list of the "25 Most Anticipated Metal Albums for 2016".
On March 23, 2016, a trailer was uploaded to the Nuclear Blast YouTube channel, detailing Hatebreed's upcoming album by revealing its cover art, track listing and release date. The trailer features several snippets of three songs from the album, these being "A.D.", "Looking Down the Barrel of Today" and "The Apex Within". The trailer also includes details of the band's upcoming tours across Europe and North America, in support of the album. An official lyric video for the first single from the album, "A.D", was released on April 8, 2016. The second single "Looking Down the Barrel" was released on April 25, and was accompanied with a music video directed by David Brodsky. The third single "Seven Enemies" was released on May 9, alongside a lyric video and later had a music video made for it. Following the album’s release a music video for "Something’s Off" was released on July 21, 2016. In the U.S. the album sold 17,000 copies in its first week debuting at number 25 on the Billboard 200.
The album was initially supported with a North American tour with Devildriver and Devil You Know, the group then toured worldwide in support of the album all the way till 2017.
Writing and recording
According to an article published by Loudwire, the album "deals heavily with topics such as social injustice, police brutality, drug abuse and self-positivity through positive mental attitude."
On the lyrical themes surrounding the opening track "A.D.", lead vocalist Jamey Jasta stated that the song "was a way that I could voice my frustration about the loss of opportunities available to the average guy. With the government and big business drowning in corruption and greed, the average person is being squeezed, so achieving the American dream is becoming less and less real. We all need to pay closer attention to what our elected leaders are doing. Start locally, in your own community, make your representatives accountable."
Hatebreed began demoing the album in late October of 2015. On December 2, it was announced Hatebreed had signed a brand new worldwide deal with Nuclear Blast to release the album. The album was recorded with longtime producer Zeuss and was mixed by Josh Wilbur.
Album cover The artwork is a literal depiction of the album's title, decorated with the skull and crossed morningstar emblem which Hatebreed has used in the past.
When asked about the cover art lead singer Jamey Jasta stated:
Reception
The Concrete Confessional received mostly positive reviews from critics. On Metacritic, the album holds a score of 72/100 based on four reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Loudwire gave the album a positive review stating “The Concrete Confessional is music that inspires action.” Metal Injection wrote “The Concrete Confessional is no reinvention by any means, there is enough variety of material and reinvigoration in the band's energy to establish it as one of the best Hatebreed albums of the past decade.” Metal Hammer wrote “born leader Jamey Jasta is rallying from the frontlines, his gruff but precise shouts driving the lyrics home. Powerful, purposeful, and about as no-frills as it gets, his tone is authoritative and his frustration at corruption, evil, and the broken American dream is palpable.” The Guardian added "as they have consistently proved over the past two decades, Jamey Jasta and crew are an irresistible, unifying force in heavy music, and they sound more vital and ferocious than ever here."
Track listing
Credits Jamey Jasta – lead vocals Wayne Lozinak – lead guitar, backing vocals Frank Novinec – rhythm guitar Chris Beattie – bass Matt Byrne – drums Additional musicians
Charlie Bellmore – additional backing vocals Chris Taylor – additional backing vocals Nick Bellmore – additional backing vocals
Production Zeuss – producer, engineering, mastering Josh Wilbur – mixing Nick Bellmore – engineering Marcelo Vasco – artwork, layout, design Jeremy Saffer – photography
Charts Chart (2016)Peak positionAustralian Albums (ARIA)33Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)23Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)22Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)37Canadian Albums (Billboard)43Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)92Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)43French Albums (SNEP)138German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)17Scottish Albums (OCC)68Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)20UK Albums (OCC)78UK Album Downloads (OCC)78UK Physical Albums (OCC)51UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)3UK Independent Albums (OCC)6UK Independent Album Breakers (OCC)1US Billboard 200 (Billboard)25US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)3US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)2US Independent Albums (Billboard)3
References