The relatively sombre Cling To Life is the album’s most distinctive song, while the closing Invoking Dominance offers a grandiose intro only to suckerpunch you with, yep, more tough-guy shenanigans. Elsewhere, Dig Your Way Out and From Gold To Gray both benefit from evoking traditional hardcore rather than Hatebreed’s typically metal-indebted signature sound. These are all just small tweaks to the formula, but if surprises are in short supply here, there remains much to admire about a band whose approach to their music is that of veteran craftsmen converting every iota of their experience and instinct into solidly reliable work.
Verdict: 3/5
For fans of: Terror, Madball, Agnostic Front
Weight Of The False Self is released on November 27 via Nuclear Blast
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