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Haste don't make waste.

Haste The Day - Pressure The Hinges

[3/5] Pressure The Hinges contains a striking departure from Haste The Day's metalcore template-"Janet's Planet," which combines swirling ebb-and-flow guitars and thunderous drums with the haunting repetition of the hazily intoned line "Walk me to the desert and leave me/I'll dig my way home." Located at the fulcrum of a 13-track album, it's an appealingly nonlinear glimpse at the group's previously untapped epic ambitions. "Chorus Of Angels" caps the disc with another stylistic switch-up, though its goth-rock approach (chunky industrial riffs, choral samples) isn't as flattering. For the rest of the record, the Indiana-based quintet tinker with their established sound. Whereas gruff vocals once presaged tuneful choruses with numbing inevitability, now melodic hooks occasionally kick-start the songs. Haste The Day demonstrate new flexibility with their breakdowns, moving them to different stages in the song structure instead of parking them behind the first or second chorus. In his first recorded effort with the band, singer Stephen Keech bolsters the group's harmonies, which lend earnest soul to inspirational anthems such as "The Minor Prophets." But while it balances melody and progressive heaviness better than the band's earlier efforts, Pressure The Hinges feels intriguingly transitional rather than revelatory. (SOLID STATE) Andrew Miller

ROCKS LIKE:
In Flames' Come Clarity
As Cities Burn's Son, I Loved You At Your Darkest
Destroy The Runner's Saints

IN-STORE SESSION WITH GUITARIST JASON BARNES

It's been a year since Stephen Keech replaced Jimmy Ryan as your lead vocalist. Now that he's reached that landmark, has he finally earned a reprieve from hazing?
We might ease up on him a bit and put some of that effort toward new crew members. We're not a really crazy band, but we like to torment one another. We've dumped cold water on him, in bed and in the shower, just trying to be as annoying as we can.

How did Keech's presence affect the songwriting process for Pressure The Hinges?
Before, [guitarist] Brennan [Chaulk] and I were the primary songwriters from a musical standpoint. Stephen plays guitar, and he wrote three of these songs himself. He drastically added to the songwriting process. Jimmy could sing, but I don't think he was confident enough to do it very much. On the CDs, he strictly did screaming. A lot of kids probably don't know this, but Stephen does a lot of the melodic singing, not just screaming.

The title track to When Everything Falls seemed to summarize that album's major themes, lyrically and musically. Is there a song that serves a similar purpose on Pressure The Hinges?
This title track does, too. It has a real rock 'n' roll feeling, but it's also very melodic. We cover both extremes on this record, from "Stitches," which is virtually all singing, to some songs that are brutally, devastatingly heavy, more so than anything we've done. The title is derived from situations in Stephen's life where he was feeling pressure from different directions. Haste The Day will never be a dark band in a negative sense, but we definitely wanted to be a bit darker melodically, not quite as poppy. Lyrically, we're still very uplifting, but also more realistic and straightforward.

PETA's website features an interview with you about animal rights. PETA once built a campaign around the assertion that Jesus never ate meat. As a Christian band with vegetarian leanings, what's your take on this issue?
We're actually not a vegetarian band. At the time, Jimmy and Brennan were vegetarians. They're not necessarily anymore. We stay away from the political side of things. We do keep an eye on what restaurants we visit, and when we grocery shop, I go for the cage-free stuff.

Are there any misconceptions about Haste The Day?
Some people think we kicked Jimmy out, or that we wouldn't let him back in, which is entirely untrue. He left on good terms to get married, and we're better friends with him now than ever. I guess that would be the only point of contention, that kids think Jimmy hates us or we hate him. It couldn't be more the opposite. -Andrew Miller

Official Website: http://www.solidstaterecords.com



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