Pressure The Hinges by Haste The Day

Reviewed by Jonathan Langley

Record companies, eh? They take and take and take. Tooth & Nail even took Haste The Day's vocalist. That's harsh. Still, former vocalist Jimmy Ryan's departure to work for T&N has hardly destroyed them. New vocalist (and one wonders, sadly, how long he'll be known as that) Stephen Keech brings a great voice to the table, raising the screaming/growling bar from the level of average to that of the strongest voices in the scene. This is a confident, mature third album, produced with a depth and lushness that complements the more complex arrangements on it. Highlights include the Deftones-like "Janet's Planet", the instant screamo single "The Minor Prophets" and the title track. With dynamite artwork (bird skeletons never looked so cool), more differentiation between songs and lashings of emo guitar-textures and breathy vocals, 'Pressure The Hinges' is clearly a play for the melodic screamo throne that Underoath seem to have vacated in favour of pastures harder. HTD's unfortunate tendency to still slip into repetitive song-structures (growl, guitar, break into a harmonising refrain), their predisposition to sound a little whiney and the fact that their songwriting is neither as poetic nor hook-filled as Gillespie and co, suggest the throne is safe for now, but watch out! If you bought 'They're Only Chasing Safety', you really should own this.