Release dates for: For The Lions          In Stores Now!              Record Label: Kotch Records ORDER: For The Lions List Price:  $13.98  Price:  $13.98   Artist info: Official Website: www.hatebreed.com   Official My Space: www.myspace.com/hatebreed  Tracklisting: Ghosts of War       Suicidal Maniac Escape                  Hatebreeders Set It Off               Thirsty and Miserable All I Had I Gave    Your Mistaken I'm in Pain              It's the Limit Refuse/Resist         Supertouch/Shitfit Evil Minds             Shut Me Out Sick of Talk           Life is Pain              Hear Me                Boxed In

Hatebreed goes undercover    To start off, I'd like to say I've never really been a big fan of Hatebreed. Sure, they put on one hell of a liveshow, but compared to other bands in the hardcore genre, they've never really stuck out for me, musically. And now, here we have a tribute album of sorts. Not in the sense that it's abunch of bands covering songs of one band, but Hatebreedcovering songs of bands, I'm assuming influenced them.      The album starts out with the classic thrash song, "Ghosts of War" originally done by Slayer in 1988. And, I can't see a better way to start out what actually ended up being a great cover CD. The thing with covers is, most of the timethey don't do the original version of the song and end up sounding bad. Hatebreed definitely did something right with what songs they chose to cover. Every song on this album has contributed to not only the thrash metal genre, but even new wave hardcore. From Metallica to Bad Brains, it's here.      The thing that really stands out on For the Lions is the vocals, actually. Hatebreed's vocalist nails every song almost perfectly. Sometimes while listening to this album, I had to make sure it was Hatebreed I was actually listening to or if I ended up placing my music library on shuffle. There are some flaws with the vocals, though. Remember how I mentioned the original usually not receiving the justice it deserves with most cover songs? There was one song that I just didn't care for on this album, and the vocals are what ruined it. That song, is the punk song originally done by The Misfits, "Hatebreeders". The only problem is, it's not Glenn Danzig singing the song. Which is what really makes that song good.      With the instruments, there is no flaw. It's all done so well and does so much for the original versionsof each song on here. It makes me wonder, with so much talent, why they don't do something more thrash metaloriented? In my opinion, these Conneticutt rockers would fit well with the likes of Municipal Waste, Toxic Holocaust, Lazarus A.D., and Evile in the new wave of thrash metal.       If you're a fan of the original versions of these songs, you should at least give this album a listen. It has some of the better cover songs I've heard in a while. If you're a fan of Hatebreed, I'd say go for it, but the only thing you'll find from the Hatebreed you know are the vocals. Not a fan of either? Maybe you want to go with something else, but some of the songs are worth checking out. Like: Escape (Metallica), Refuse/Resist (Sepultura), and Suicidal Maniac (Suicidal Tendancies), just to name a few.   Review By: Anthony Bittner