BornBroken
We were recently put onto Monreal based BornBroken, a band formed out of the simple mission of helping the masses find a voice, a face, an ‘x’ that marks the spot through the sounds of beating skins, metal strings and broken chords. With a debut album, The Healing Powers Of Hate, that reflects every single one of their emotions, the band have quickly established themselves as a force to be reckoned with, stating themselves that they’re ‘taking sorrow and anger and rising up from the ashes to rebuild and heal a new world from one that’s crumbling down around us now’. Following on from this with an EPK that states ‘It’s a truly powerful message delivered by one of the metal world’s most powerful new bands’, I was looking forward to seeing what was on offer!
Kicking off with Can’t Quiet The Riot we’re launched straight into a pumping melee of hardcore style riffs, pounding drums and bass heavy rhythms, the mix immediately setting itself as something that’s going to grab you and toss you into a pit of all out devastation. Chunky guitars abound throughout, keeping the track hammering from start to finish with an unrelenting approach that’s sure to appeal to fans of Hatebreed style stuff, as well as fans of straight up raw power. Don’t be deceived into thinking this is just power though as throughout, there’s a real sense of melody, and the closing moments hold a hauntingly beautiful quality, demonstrating the understanding within the band of what they’re capable of – as well as the power of course!
Moving on to Old News the chunky power continues, once again launching us into a rolling melee of distorted riffs, rolling drums and pounding bass lines, adopting a fast paced mix that’s surely going to unleash the most almighty pits when performed live. Fast paced and in your face from start to finish, this second track builds on the opening moments, taking the hardcore approach and adding in more of a sense of movement, keeping the track alive through the fast paced distortion on offer. This is an approach that’s continued into Anger Of The Day, once again offering up blistering riffs accompanied by some seriously heavy drum work, resulting once again in a mix that’s perfectly crafted for the live scene. Hammering out a track which comes across as one of the heaviest thus far, the moments we’re presented with here are a reflection of the pain and anger that went into the creation of this album, the anguished roars signifying the anger and the hammering musical elements backing them up to fully hammer them home. To me, this track screams single, the sort of thing that’s going to hook people in and make them come back time and time again – definitely a moment to make sure you check out.
Once again pushing their boundaries to the max for I Will Rise the rolling melee that greets us immediately generates images of rampaging circle pits, throbbing crowds and pulsating venues, suggesting that this is a track which has been perfectly crafted for the live scene, the sort of thing that’s going to be impossible to resist. This seems to be a theme that runs through the album as track after track pushes the listener to the max, showcasing the style of the band and backing up the initial claims of them being one of the most powerful new metal bands. Through the fast paced and in your face rhythms of Control and onto the powerful message of It Has Begun before unleashing Birth Of The Broken and Bleed The Sky, each track seems to hammer out, offering up a sound that matches the one before yet somehow pushes the boundaries of the record as a whole. Raw and powerful throughout, we’re taken through moments akin to Bury Your Dead, moments like Hatebreed, moments with an old school Machine Head feel and other moments that almost hit home like something from White Zombie, yet all the while keeping you aware that it’s BornBroken you’re listening to.
Reaching another serious high point in the form of Reborn From The Ashes we’re once again propelled into a rolling mix of hammering guitar work, rolling drums and bass heavy rhythms, all of which back up the guttural and powerful vocal lines that lead the mix. Deep and powerful, this is another track that’s surely going to destroy venues when it’s unleashed upon them, keeping things seriously heavy but still managing to achieve that groove orientated approach that allows you to connect – a winning formula for sure. It’s only then left to title track The Healing Powers Of Hate, bringing the album to a close with one final groove orientated hurrah designed to get you in the pit and loving every second of what you’re hearing. Fast paced and powerful from the word go, the closing moments may well signal the end of the album, but they signal the beginning of a new era, an era where BornBroken are in charge, and we’re powerless to refuse.
What BornBroken have done here is create an album that ticks pretty much every box on the seriously heavy tick sheet, managing to put together an album which is heavy, melodic, dark, haunting, and yet uplifting at the same time. Representing the pain and angst that went into making it, this album will connect with your soul, and remind you of what heavy is.
To find out more about BornBroken, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls
Kicking off with Can’t Quiet The Riot we’re launched straight into a pumping melee of hardcore style riffs, pounding drums and bass heavy rhythms, the mix immediately setting itself as something that’s going to grab you and toss you into a pit of all out devastation. Chunky guitars abound throughout, keeping the track hammering from start to finish with an unrelenting approach that’s sure to appeal to fans of Hatebreed style stuff, as well as fans of straight up raw power. Don’t be deceived into thinking this is just power though as throughout, there’s a real sense of melody, and the closing moments hold a hauntingly beautiful quality, demonstrating the understanding within the band of what they’re capable of – as well as the power of course!
Moving on to Old News the chunky power continues, once again launching us into a rolling melee of distorted riffs, rolling drums and pounding bass lines, adopting a fast paced mix that’s surely going to unleash the most almighty pits when performed live. Fast paced and in your face from start to finish, this second track builds on the opening moments, taking the hardcore approach and adding in more of a sense of movement, keeping the track alive through the fast paced distortion on offer. This is an approach that’s continued into Anger Of The Day, once again offering up blistering riffs accompanied by some seriously heavy drum work, resulting once again in a mix that’s perfectly crafted for the live scene. Hammering out a track which comes across as one of the heaviest thus far, the moments we’re presented with here are a reflection of the pain and anger that went into the creation of this album, the anguished roars signifying the anger and the hammering musical elements backing them up to fully hammer them home. To me, this track screams single, the sort of thing that’s going to hook people in and make them come back time and time again – definitely a moment to make sure you check out.
Once again pushing their boundaries to the max for I Will Rise the rolling melee that greets us immediately generates images of rampaging circle pits, throbbing crowds and pulsating venues, suggesting that this is a track which has been perfectly crafted for the live scene, the sort of thing that’s going to be impossible to resist. This seems to be a theme that runs through the album as track after track pushes the listener to the max, showcasing the style of the band and backing up the initial claims of them being one of the most powerful new metal bands. Through the fast paced and in your face rhythms of Control and onto the powerful message of It Has Begun before unleashing Birth Of The Broken and Bleed The Sky, each track seems to hammer out, offering up a sound that matches the one before yet somehow pushes the boundaries of the record as a whole. Raw and powerful throughout, we’re taken through moments akin to Bury Your Dead, moments like Hatebreed, moments with an old school Machine Head feel and other moments that almost hit home like something from White Zombie, yet all the while keeping you aware that it’s BornBroken you’re listening to.
Reaching another serious high point in the form of Reborn From The Ashes we’re once again propelled into a rolling mix of hammering guitar work, rolling drums and bass heavy rhythms, all of which back up the guttural and powerful vocal lines that lead the mix. Deep and powerful, this is another track that’s surely going to destroy venues when it’s unleashed upon them, keeping things seriously heavy but still managing to achieve that groove orientated approach that allows you to connect – a winning formula for sure. It’s only then left to title track The Healing Powers Of Hate, bringing the album to a close with one final groove orientated hurrah designed to get you in the pit and loving every second of what you’re hearing. Fast paced and powerful from the word go, the closing moments may well signal the end of the album, but they signal the beginning of a new era, an era where BornBroken are in charge, and we’re powerless to refuse.
What BornBroken have done here is create an album that ticks pretty much every box on the seriously heavy tick sheet, managing to put together an album which is heavy, melodic, dark, haunting, and yet uplifting at the same time. Representing the pain and angst that went into making it, this album will connect with your soul, and remind you of what heavy is.
To find out more about BornBroken, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls