Today is November 7th. It's a day that unveils the fruit of a 3 year wait for LS fans. Your typical first reviews of this cd will come from writers who rushed to the store today to obtain a copy.. fumbling for the keys to their car with purchase in hand, a gleam in their eye as they shove one in the ignition and after a brief but agonizing struggle with the shrink wrap, pop into their cd player.. The Hammering Process.
As for this writer, whilst all of this is happening, I am probably drooling.. on my pillow in bed. You see, as I write this, it's 1:40 AM on the dawn of that fateful day, and I'm listening again and again to the cd I've owned a prerelease of for about a month now. I know this baby inside and out. In honesty, when I heard the 2 tracks off the demo tape, it only mildly impressed me. In retrospect my hunch was quite correct, that they put out 2 songs that were a bit mediocre in comparison to the other tracks, and this was indeed a smart move. When you take into consideration how much of a departure Reborn was from older material, THP comes off much more well rounded, in that it incorporates some of the old while exploring the new, without coming off too "rehashed".
The intro track, Flatline, does however bring to mind the way the previous album began, sort of "setting the atmosphere" during the first minute with a building rhythm. You hear little hints of the tribal percussion Matt will often infuse, leading into a strong track, complete with some cool leads, yes I said leads, and a solo. Expect plenty of this throughout the cd. The final track, Conditional, reminds you of the roots of this band, sporting a sound reminiscent of the self titled, but seamlessly flowing into the new again. What is the new exactly? Very rhythm driven metal.. mostly mid paced, which isn't a bad thing. Speed doesn't guarantee good music. I've heard people say "If you are a fan of nu-metal you'll love this", but wipe that crap out of your mind. There is one song, "Perfect" which would appeal to the mainstream masses, and I believe it was another intelligent move to write this song. Because unless you're one of those people who get anal when something sounds catchy or contains singing, this is NOT a bad thing, and it will get them some radio play.. it is an awesome song. I always love to hear a screaming vocalist explore the realm of singing, if it sounds good. I honestly don't think any of the other 9 songs are too radio friendly, and this one is just barely as it is.. that should tell you plenty.
The most killer cuts on The Hammering Process, I would have to say are: "Hand Of The Dead", "Hidden", and "Local Vengeance Killing", but the rest of it is really solid too. "Burn The End" has a great acoustic solo by Rocky which was put together in the studio; it wasn't in the original demo. I am not biased but I can't really think of anything I find weak with this cd except that "Bloodwork" seems a bit one dimensional. An unexpected twist or three would have been nice. But to conclude this review. Clearly, Living Sacrifice is a band that can stand in the face of personnel changes, and come out stronger than before. Lance still rules the drums, Bruce delivers again with more seasoned and slightly varied vocals, and the new members fit in like they were never missing. They're as tight as a well oiled machine.. Maybe tighter.
9/10
Other coverage for this album
HM Magazine #91Reviewed by UnknownThe Record Collection, a new vinyl-focused label that digressed into the digital medium for a limited release Snailhuntr CD, brings us two impressive and fully licensed collector's items for the hard music audiophile. The first is the first-pressing of Living Sacrifice's The Hammering Process LP on 12" vinyl of assorted colors. All poly-bagged with an insert (but no lyric sheet), the records come…HM Magazine #86Reviewed by Melba JacksonMy grandson, Jesse, gave me this CD and said, "Spin this, gramma! Maybe you can write a review for this magazine." Now, I've never written an album review before, but I know what I like. And I hate this. First of all, these boys from Little Rock do not know how to sing! I feel sorry for Bruce Fitzhugh's mother, because this boy obviously forgot everything he learned in choir. Now, his…Bandoppler 2000Reviewed by Chad OlsonThe wait is finally over. The new Living Sacrifice album has arrived. Three years in the making, Bruce Fitzhugh and company have created a metal onslaught sure to become a masterpiece in the collections of metalcore fans. With new lead guitarist Rocky Gray, new bassist Arthur Green, and the addition of percussionist Matthew Putman (the latter 2 formerly of Eso Charis), Fitzhugh and drummer Lance…Art for the Ears 2000Reviewed by Marco PovervestA highly anticipated release from Solid State, that's what you can say about The Hammering Process. With the release of Reborn, Living Sacrifice's previous album, the band gained lots of new enthusiastic fans and inspired many hard bands worldwide. The Hammering Process features a new line-up as the Truby brothers left the band. They are replaced by three guys. Two of them were part of…Dead Zine 2000Reviewed by the ProjectOh boy hold on tight because The Hammering Process is a wild and crazy ride. This is groove/death metal at its finest. I could not believe what I was hearing was Living Sacrifice. The past albums were harder, and more blistering than the past albums. The lyrics were totally amazing with heartfelt angst and aggression. This band has been around the block many times and rounds it again with this. I…Dead Zine 2000Reviewed by undeadEvery so often, there are bands that sit atop a pinnacle in the music spectrum. As in this particular case, they wait four or five years between albums, in hopes that the fans will be crazed for new material. In this case, nearly five years has passed since Reborn was released, which exceeded the expectations of most fans, excluding myself. Reborn was a drastic step from its death metal…Dead Zine 2000Reviewed by thOrNThis review is sorta my rebuttal against the other reviews.... Ok I will come right out and give it a 10. My fellow writers I think are afraid to do this. There is no denying Living Sacrifice's place in all our hearts. We all love them. And there is no denying the crushin power of this album. I saw LS a few weeks before this album came out and what I saw made me salivate for this album. So come…Dead Zine 2000Reviewed by GrindboyDo you understand this band? With about as stable of a lineup as you could hope for in the Christian scene, they put out 4 shockingly different records. Then they take a 3 year break between albums, undergo gargantuan lineup changes... and the sound stays generally the same as last time. Do you understand this band? Despite the opening here though, this cd is pretty much exactly what I expected.…Dead Zine 2000Reviewed by D_Lister3 years in the making and the wait ends. Like the other reviews so far (11-11-00) I've had the pre-release of this CD for a few weeks now. I've been waiting to review it simply because I wanted to fully digest the material here. With that said I can honestly say that Living Sacrifice are nothing short of Christian metal kings! They've got history, and future all in one. To be honest when I saw…Dead Zine 2000Reviewed by FletchLet me start by saying that this album has been long coming. My first real concert was about four years just before Living Sacrifice put out Reborn. Zao and Living Sacrifice played. In fact, Zao was just getting ready to release The Splinter Shards the Birth of Separation. Well, here it is four years later. Comparatively, Zao has since turned the music world upside down with two more full lengths…Similar sounding releases
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