Haste The Day

Dreamer

[2/5]

If a band fire their guitarist for not being a Christian, how long will it take them to start imposing a religious test on audience members-say, admitting only those who sport a promise ring or a WWJD bracelet? Never mind; that kind of thing is Haste The Day’s business, not critics’, and based on Dreamer, ousted axeman Jason Barnes is probably better off, anyway. Metalcore is an inherently generic and faceless genre, but these guys might as well not even publish photos of themselves in their CD booklets. There’s not a riff or breakdown you haven’t already heard a dozen times this year; the clean choruses are identical to those on many of their former tourmates’ albums; the scant few stylistic left turns are stolen from depressing indie-rock acts. But their fans are probably only listening for the message, so does it even matter? (SOLID STATE) Phil Freeman