Riff Police! Pull Over! #9: Hatebreed Vs Light The Fire!

It has to be said that Hatebreed have plenty of critics. Some say that they’re a cookie cutter hardcore band. Others say that Jamey Jasta has a lack of range as a frontman. Meh. What Hatebreed do deliver for the most part is mosh worthy music – and we would defy anyone to sit through an entire Hatebreed album and not have the urge to move. The anthemic “This is Now” from 2003’s “The Rise Of Brutality” is the lyrical follow up to the bands breakout single “I Will Be Heard” from it’s predecessor, 2002’s “Perseverance”. Then guitarist Sean Martin’s riffage is one of the stand out parts of a decent album.

Fast forward to 2017 and Light The Fire, a Post-Hardcore crew from Dallas, Texas. Their single “The Void”, which frontman Seth Davis said at the time the song was “written to raise awareness about the importance of mental health and how people are diagnosed and mis-diagnosed”, which is a noble cause indeed. But… it has the exact same riff as “This Is Now” to open before bursting into it’s own thing.  It might be speeded up and it might be in a different guitar tone but it’s the same damn riff. This is the Riff Police! Pull Over!