The Hurt Process
"A Heartbeat Behind"
Victory Records

I don’t like The Hurt Process. I never have. I don’t even like the fact that they seem to now have a very heavy metal influence in some of their new songs. They are still a very cookie-cutter screamo band who needs to rely on a couple of really heavy hooks to try and get a new fan base to embrace them.

I say for bands like this if you feel the need to scream when you have a majority of singing parts, leave out the screaming. It’s not needed and makes you seem silly.

They like many bands today, seem to blend a ton of musical genres into an album and hope that one of them sticks with a fan base and they can go in that direction. The really hardcore parts of the album seemed forced and like they are trying too hard to be this band that can play a real heavy song. But they aren’t that. They’re a glorified pop-punk band, with a touch of metal.

While I personally can’t stand the singers voice, I will say that they touched up the singing a bit on this release, where it’s almost listenable now. The last album was awful beyond words, and this one is a step in the right direction.

The Self Titled track and Boogie Nights In Michigan are I guess you could say the standout tracks on this album. They between employ about 15 different types of music. I was expecting buddist chanting at one point, but I never heard it, oh well.

The fact is, this band appeals to the very young musical audience out there. Not us 25 year olds who have a structured past with our musical experiences. I will never give this band a fair shake, but apparently, not many people will.


Reviewed by: Chris Buehler
Reviewed on: September 7, 2005