Disco de Hatebreed: “Under the Knife”

ok. yes some of these songs were better produced on satisfaction. yes it is short. bottomline is this is an independent release. if all u are looking for is slick production by ross robinson than you are into the wrong kind of music and need to stop looking at this cd. hatebreed is an incredible band. their live show is like none other i have seen. this cd catches hatebreed at theitr rawest. ifu know hatebreed, like hardcore and supportindenedent releases, even if it was rereleased by victory, than get this album. appreciate this album for what it is. life changing hardcore. these guys have paved a road for hardcore in mainstream music. don't forget their roots.

this album is terrific! i would recommencd it to any one who likes fast, hard, high energy hardcore music. more in the line of earth crisis than MAINSTREAM bands like slipknot. a must for skateboarding.(gives frenzy fast pace!). all in all my fave album! neat-o!

Hatebreed clearly had just one task in mind when making their debut, 1996's "Under The Knife": To make some of the most powerful music you have ever and will ever hear. And there's no two ways about it -- most bands would probably find that to be a nearly impossible goal, but Jamey Jasta and Co. achieved it without even breaking a sweat. They did so by filling these seven tunes with simplistic yet biting guitar licks, occasional, fiery thrash runs, guttural bass rumbles, pounding drums, venomous vocals, really memorable lyrics, adherent grooves, punishing breakdowns, slamdanceable choruses, basic song structures, short song lengths, gritty-sounding production, and an excellent live energy. (Seriously, this album is so darn raw that its title is very well deserved because it sounds like the band members could have recorded the whole thing like their lives depended on it -- e.g. at knifepoint.) Listeners who are in search of technical, progressive, and thought-provoking music with radio-friendly singles, poppy hooks, guitar solos, or even one trace of melody...well, they should just look elsewhere. But those who crave a batch of extremely potent, brutal, primal, aggressive, viscerally satisfying, and completely unbridled and frills-free old-school hardcore should pay close attention to "Under The Knife." This was a very solid and arresting debut, and a promising precursor of future success and other good things to come from this soon-to-be legendary Connecticut-based quintet. It all begins with "Smash Your Enemies" (geez, even the song titles give you a rush!). It fades in with a wall feedback before giving way to all the usual Hatebreed goodies, like hefty, chugging, downtuned riffs, clangy, cracking skins and cymbals, and foaming at the mouth bellows that make the listener wonder if Jasta emphatically completed every sentence with an exclamation point when writing the lyrics. "Kill An Addict" is a fairly pleasant surprise because it is almost pure thrash, and is propelled by ferocious and positively blistering, Slayer-worthy guitar leads, and fast, beeping bass lines. (Although the lyrics remain of the pure hardcore mentality: "You brought it on yourself!".) Then the band continue to plow through the steamrolling guitars, dirty-sounding bass bottom, and crashing drum beat of the title cut, and "Filth," with its jackhammering drums, breakneck tempo change, and uber-fat, deep, and ominously grumbling bass lines (which often evoke vintage Crowbar) throughout. (In fact, some -- this reviewer included -- might even argue that "Filth" is a bass-driven song.) Next comes "Not One Truth," a booming number, and the first of two tracks on here that was originally found on 1995's rare 7" split EP w/ Neglect, thus making it the first piece of music Hatebreed ever put to wax! And finally, this seething fourteen-minute ball of hiss and vinegar STILL refuses to let up (not even for just one second), thanks to "Severed" and (the album's longest track) "Puritan," which are bonded together by great, muscular, churning riffs and hulking rhythms that are equal to being bludgeoned with a sledgehammer (also make sure to check out the non-stop stream of livid lyrics and catchy gang shouts in "Puritan"); and which bring the album to a suitably strong, vitriolic, and memorable close.

Should of had more tracks on it, but hatebreed is cool and i think 4 stars is well suiting. put some more tracks on it and i woulda given ya guys a 5

I caught onto the Hatebreed bandwagon when they released Satisfaction is the Death of All Desire back in 97. I hadnt heard much of their older stuff but I figured it was only a matter of time before theyd begin to release some of it. I happened upon this one day in my local Best Buy and picked it up in a frenzy. Its a fairly short cd, clocking in under 15 minutes and 7 tracks. Its the same Hatebreed I came to love over the past years: loud, angry and amazing. Song topics range from the usual hardcore KILL EM ALL types to songs about drug addicts and religion. Its nowhere near to the great cd Satisfaction is, but one can hear the roots for that album throughout. Check this cd out, any hardcore fan will love it.