Hatebreed

The thing about Hatebreed is I always just assumed they were a metal band. They played Ozzfest and any time I saw their name listed somewhere they always seemed to be lumped in with Slipknot, Mushroomhead, and like Seether. While I don’t have a problem with most of those bands they aren’t necessarily my favorite. So I was pretty surprised when Big Ass Truck of all bands covered “I Will Be Heard” one week and then funnily enough a local hardcore band called Upsurge covered it the next. Both times, the crowd lost their shit. After coming to the realization this was a Hatebreed song I began listening to their back catalogue and honestly... I think lumping them in with post-grunge and nu-metal bands was doing them a disservice. They are a hardcore/metalcore band through and through.

Because they were claimed by the Metalheads, I was always hesitant to see them live. See, the thing about bands that have a lot of crossover appeal with hardcore and metal is that, at least where I am from, there is ALWAYS a fight in the pit because the mosh styles don't really get along well and since Hatebreed are pretty big in their scene they often play shows behind a barricade and that's no fun. Thankfully I was able to witness Hatebreed live at FYA 2026 without a barricade and it was an experience. While they are very "capital H" hardcore influenced, their lyrics definitely have more weight to them and the reason why they ended up in my top artists this month is because I usually listen to them when I lift because I feel like Jamey Jasta is yelling at me in my ear like a football coach.

I would consider Satisfaction Is the Death of Desire to be essential listening for someone who likes or wants to get into hardcore, metalcore, or Hatebreed, though it's not my favorite album by them. That honor would go to their second effort: Perseverance

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