I have a bad prejudice against core music. Ever since the breakdowns and crabwalks of "Attack!Attack!" seared themselves into my eyes, I've never been the same.  Ever since "Blood On The Dance Floor" started dying their hair with Kool Aid and making tattoos out of Crayola marker lines, I've been prone to the "kill those fucking posers" syndrome. But HATEBREED's newest album "Divinity Of Purpose" almost makes me want to apologize for most of the bad things I've said about bands categorized in genres with the word "core" in them. Almost.

At least HATEBREED takes some dignity in their rough-and-tough countenances, rocking grays and blacks till the end of time. And that album cover looks like something Michael Angelo would've thought up in his rebellious teen years. This album has considerably too many breakdowns, too much shouting, and too much flat musical structure for me to consider this a top album of the year.  However, the content of this album was as consistently hard-hitting as a lovechild between PANTERA and AGNOSTIC FRONT. HATEBREED's "fuck the system" attitude is prevalent in the gritty grooves of "Honor Never Dies" and the anthemic notes of "Own Your World."  Slower grooves in songs like "Dead Man Breathing" allure the avid headbanger, and "The Language" speaks to all with its musical spunk that could start mosh pits the size of a Midwestern city full of angry teenagers.