Lockup
Hate Breeds Suffering
5.5
Well well, can you believe it? I hold in my hand yet another side project. Riveting news, a shocking development, who would have seen this coming? What a concept, what a revolutionary idea. Members of solidified bands coming together to create a whole new sound. Foking wow, is all I can say. Are side projects becoming a bit overplayed? Is the whole idea beginning to sour? I would have to say so. The lack of attention on the collaborating musician's behalf's on these projects is becoming way too apparent. Where the idea is profound, it seems as if these side projects are just hashed out. The meticulous focus that goes into their original projects seems to be put aside when it comes down to the infamous side project. I understand that the 'live' feel, with the spontaneity and the rawness are at times what the overall project is trying to obtain. A different philosophy indeed, instead of the over analyzed, and over produced release. I ask the question though, can't you meet somewhere in the middle? With all the side projects available. Why not proceed with the gravity and fortitude that is expected out of your founding projects. Produce the ultimate side project. Spend the time and money to make your side project stand high above the others. Not just depending on the merit of the musicians within to sell the product. Leaving out the key elements that make the fans go foking nuts for your breed of metal. Lockup's latest release, Hate Breeds Suffering does contain some very notable musicians. Nicholas Barker, (Dimmu Borgir, Old Man's Child, Cradle of Filth) Shane Embury & Jesse Pintado, (Napalm Death) and lastly Tomas Lindberg. (At the Gates, The Crown) I believe the intentions are noble on this one, but the finished product is basically standard. The main focus is on speed, with furious kicks and snare blasts leading the way. Nick Barker is truly one of my favorite drummers but his work on this one is nothing out of the norm. Nothing really creative can be found amongst his performance, again I say pretty standard. The song structures are basically monotonous and predictable. With the intent of just blasting through the tune with some structured shouting on Tomas's behalf. Let me give you an example: da DA DA DA DA DA DA DA,*** DA DA, DA DA*** DA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA,*** DA DA, DA DA***. How's that for painting precision? Did you feel like you were listening to the disk itself? I will have to say there are a few tunes within the 16 tracks that due seem to stand above the rest. Those being the title track Hate Breeds Suffering, and The Jesus Virus. The rest seem to just blast by without one measure of originality. Bottom Line: Lockup's Hate Breeds Suffering was a great idea on paper, but the final product seems to have lost its origin of intent.
5.4
With the current lineup of musicians present on this record one might ask, "How in the world could they go wrong?" You have two members from Napalm Death who have most definitely made a name for themselves with that band. You have Tomas Lindberg who is legendary, and Nicholas Barker who is well on his way to earning a trip to the Metal Hall Of Fame. I look at the four names on the bio in front of me and I even ask myself how they could go wrong. Well, I'll make it simple for you. If you're into brutally performed grindcore with a twinge of death, you're in for a treat. If you're looking for more in your metal, then you will quite possibly be disappointed. I am part of the latter. I do like all styles of metal ("There's no such thing as Nu-Metal" - Silenoz), but as has been stated over and over again, you'd better be doing something that stands out from the rest. This album doesn't even come close. If you take all the instrumental elements of this band and dissect them individually, then the playing at times is untouchable. Tomas Lindberg is still a top-of-the-line vocalist with his guttural screams coming forth from depths that are unknown to most of his peers. Anyone that has heard the playing of Nick Barker knows that this guy has abilities that are so beyond amazing that it's hard to describe in words. You need to see this man play live because it is quite a treat. None of his technical majesty is lost on this release even though I think he may use the o'l blast beat a bit too much for my tastes. These two elements on Hate Breeds Suffering stand out predominantly over anything this band has to offer. Jesse Pintado and Shane Embury of the aforementioned Napalm Death were the drive behind the writing of this album's music. I can tell you that the guitar work on this disc is technical and one would probably have a hell of a time trying to learn it. However, after listening to this album several times over the past couple of weeks I can't remember one time where any of the riffs were stuck in my head afterwards. As far as the bass playing goes, if he's following along with the guitar you could have fooled me simply because I can't hear it. This is not uncommon in metal as my good buddy Wrex will attest to, because unless ample time is spent in the studio to perfect the mix it is tough to bring out the best in the bass lines. Admittedly, there wasn't a whole lot of time spent recording this disc. It was an in-and-out type of thing that truly affected the musical outcome. There is one thing about this band that I truly dig and will share with those of you who are unfamiliar. The entire idea behind this band was to say "screw you" to all the Mainstream Major Label Halloween Costume Wearin' Puke Spewing From The Mouth Bullcocks that have diseased our scene with their filth. It is because of this fact that I respect this band even though the music does little for me. I'm sure there are many that will like this release but other than the fact of what they stand for I don't recommend it.
