It Hates You

After albums steeped in metalcore and more rootsy, swampy metal, He Is Legend’s 2009 studio album sounds more hard-rock driven than any of their preceding works. “Dicephalous” leads off with a ‘90s sounding intro as guitars drone, a fretless bass solos and then the song firecrackers into punch-throwing rawk before the throaty Schuylar Croom comes in crooning like a young James Hetfield. “Everyone I Know Has Fangs” erupts with a pummeling, punk- inspired verse that slams into grappling hooks of post-grunge melody in the chorus that sound as catchy as a Foo Fighters hit. Gears shift down as mellow guitar delay ushers in sludgy, mammoth riffs on “The Primarily Blues,” a soaring space rocker with a radio- friendly chorus that recalls Reload-era Metallica. And the guitars that begin “Future’s Bright Man” flirt with dated shoegazer effects before snapping into an Alice In Chains-esque grime that would well accompany televised cage fighting. Though they’re still stylistically finding their footing, with It Hates You, He Is Legend sounds consistent in their chemistry and relentless in their rocking.