Satisfaction guaranteed

Death becomes Hatebreed

by John O'Neill

Somewhere along the line, things became quite twisted in the Land of Misfit Noise. Once upon a time, there were the hardcore camp and the heavy-metal faction. The punks played blisteringly fast, dense songs with political overtones and sang lyrics that lectured and proselytized and, every so often, rhymed. The headbangers specialized in deafeningly loud power chords, bellowed obscenities and satanic howling that almost always rhymed. There was no doubt that two very separate factions existed.

Maybe it was Glenn Danzig's departure from the Misfits to form the very metallic Samhain, or jerk-of-all-trades Henry Rollins's move from Black Flag to find a more marketable sound with his Rollins Band. It could have been Megadeth's speed-thrash or Metallica's non-compromising (i.e. punk) dynamics that appealed to a new generation. Whatever the reason, by the start of the '90s these two music forms were inexplicably intertwined and a whole new mutant strain was born.

With the release of Satisfaction Is the Death of Desire (Victory) New Haven Connecticut's Hatebreed are firmly at the forefront of the new hardcore scene. Although they look like old-schoolers and apply many examples from the above-mentioned HC checklist, they also gleefully incorporate many aspects of heavy metal on their new disc. From the opening salvo of "Empty Promises" straight through to the closer "Driven by Suffering," Hatebreed straddle the line between the full-speed-ahead approach of classic hardcore and metal's rhythmic crunch. The overall result is propulsive, direct, moshable metal showcased in 14 songs that take the band just over 26 minutes to perform -- like a panzer tank rolling through France. Although Jamie Jasta's vocals aren't the most distinctive, he can growl with the best of them; the guitars border on sonic without falling into the trap of ax-hero wankfest and, like any good group of disenfranchised kids, the lyrics are always a nice stiff knee to the groin.

Hatebreed, who play the Espresso Bar on Sunday, November 23, are a band who actually sound fresh in a genre that is ripe with essentially interchangeable bands.

No longer Derailed

The Derailers were one of Worcester's more interesting acts in recent years. With an affinity for Les Paul guitars and Marshall amps and a deep love for Hüsker Dü, the Ramones, and almost anything else with attitude and a pop hook, they spent most of the '90s slogging around the local scene in relative obscurity, opening for anyone at anytime for any amount of money just to get the chance to play. They also wrote a few memorable originals along the way. "Where We Still Are" was WCUW's local song of the year in 1993, and others like "Sandbox," "Pirouette," and "Hooks for Innocence" also received favorable reviews and airplay.

But the Derailers were dealt a blow from which they never recovered when, in early 1995, vocalist/bassist Chad MacInnis left to pursue outside interests. Although they still continued to operate as a band into this year (as Derailer Park), their live show lacked the same sonic aesthetic that made the group so enjoyable; they would not release any new recorded material and, with shows becoming infrequent, the band slowly coasted to a stop.

"The Derailer thing hit an impasse," says founding guitarist Kevin Hagerty. "Half the guys wanted to do all originals, some wanted all covers. Presto, end of band."

Out of the ashes come Andah, Hagerty's latest brainstorm. Hagerty kept drummer Todd Luppo on board and re-enlisted old pal MacInnis to once again handle bass and vocals. "Chad had busted up his knee in the Army so they tossed him out. He was also looking to get into a band."

Although Andah recapture the same Derailers trademark speed-pop, they're also out to expand musical turf. "We're aiming to put a little more into dynamics than what we did before," continues Hagerty, "and we want to try to make all of our songs interconnect to tell a story. If we change the set list we'll change the story."

The band have released a cassette single, "Naked Scent" b/w "Named Your Poison," that represents the first two of what will be 13 songs in their (punk) rock opera. Both songs will also appear on Digital Side of the Moon Phase 2 (Big Noise), the third compilation CD from the Providence-based label. It's slated for release in mid-January.

You can check out Andah at Sir Morgan's Cove, Friday, November 28, in their Worcester debut.

Name game

Local faves Controlled Aggression have undergone a change of name (and drummer), now going under the moniker Bionic Manson. Citing both the maturation of the band's sound and direction, as well as the addition of Los Angeles native Mike Palmesano (ex X-Members) on drums, the band decided to go for a new name. Bionic Mansion have written new material and are in the studio now recording songs for their second full-length CD. The as-yet-untitled offering is due for release sometime in December.