Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 05/05/2009
The terms
metalcore,
hardcore,
punk metal, and
death metal have all been applied at one time or another to New Haven, CT-based
Hatebreed, but it was a shared love of all things
punk rock that served as the impetus for the band's inception in the early '90s. That's not to say that the 18 covers that make up
For the Lions are tapped squarely from the vein of
punk history, but at least they finally got around to covering the classic
Misfits song from which they derived their name. Like an LP version of
Metallica's 1987
$5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re-Revisited,
For the Lions is a love letter to the bands and songs that inspired the group, which means that all of the previously mentioned genres are more or less represented. The band sounds the most engaged on the early
hardcore numbers like
"Suicidal Maniac" (
Suicidal Tendencies),
"Thirsty and Miserable" (
Black Flag), and
"It's the Limit" (
Cro-Mags), while nods to the metal gods such as
"Ghosts of War" (
Slayer) and
"Escape" (
Metallica) are blistering and volatile enough to warrant inclusion, but feel a little rote.
~James Christopher Monger, All Music Guide