BornBroken - The Healing Powers of Hate

Canadian has bought the metal music so many great bands. From the futuristic thrash of Voivod to the extreme metal on Cryptopsy, then more recently the math/prog metalcore of Protest the Hero and the massively hardworking bros in Cancer Bats. Those bands have all played their part in opening up the Canadian scene and allowing bands like BornBroken to gain wider audiences. BornBroken was founded in 2008 but have only just released their debut record, The Healing Powers Of Hate. What makes this release special is that it was self-released by the band and shows a true DIY ethic, which is more alive than ever across the whole scene.

Tracklist:-

1. Can’t Quiet The Riot
2. Old News
3. Anger of The Day
4. I Will Rise
5. Control
6. It Has Begun
7. Birth of The Broken
8. Bleed The Sky
9. Reborn From The Ashes
10. The Healing Powers of Hate 

BornBroken launches forth with a thrash-laden sound to match their metal chops. The great thing about them as opening track Can't Quiet The Riot plays, is that as well as those thrash and metal influences, they also throw in Death metal vocals and subtle math time signatures. The riffs are fairly atonal in that they don't vary from their downtuned state, but in the same way that Fear Factory makes them work, BornBroken do too. The introspective musical/sampled passage at the end of the track that bridges the gap to Old News, helps the album flow.

Old News sees Born Broken injecting more melody into their music, if only in the intro riffs. For me, this harks back to early days of bands like Mudvayne and American Head Charge, both of which I used to love and brings the sound up to date.The production is good and the odd hardcore rhythm and breakdown gives the record a meatier edge. They hit a new, dissonant stage with Anger of The Day. The rhythm sections switches between well played double bass chaos and more measured grooves. The guitars are as brutal as ever, hitting that straight up metal spot with the inclusion of a great dual-solo.

In spite of all the genres and bands I've mentioned above as reference points, BornBroken have a real head for metal. As with many of their Canadian compatriots, they have that thick sound which seems to be a trademark of the country. They throw in elements of other sub-genres but overall, it's the modern metal that gives them their identity. I Will Rise is one of the best examples of their modern approach, as while being crushing it still retains a charm thanks to some cleverly inter-weaved passages of power-metal inspired pomp. With songs like Control, BornBroken show their more urgent side. It's one of fastest number on The Healing Powers of Hate and it really gets the heart pumping the head banging. Cheesy I know, but it's true! The twin guitar harmonies go further to show of the band's instrumental prowess too. A very welcome nudge towards rock n roll.

The sampled intro at the start of It Has Begun paints a bleak picture of the lyrical influences on show. As with the majority of metal bands, BornBroken don't sing about fluffy bunnies and flowers, but instead of singing about the devil and fictional stories, they sing about real-world issues and war. Again nothing new, but it fits their sound really well. They switch things up a gear with Birth of The Broken, which sees the weave more melodic thrash into their music. The sweeping guitar really adds to the song and seems to change the atmosphere of the album. At times, the guitar does remind me of another Canadian metal band, 3 Inches of Blood. I think fans of that band will lap up BornBroken.

The thrash keeps going through the intense Bleed The Sky and unlike the previous Nuclear Blast Records band with the same name, there are no histrionics here, only another killer solo that becomes a dual solo and helps BornBroken's sound become richer. The pace remains frenetic right through penultimate track Reborn From The Ashes and then closing with title track, BornBroken have probably written the song that will attract them the most new metal fans. It gathers all the elements of their sound and gives them one last springboard in which to breach the underground and to get into people's faces. 

BornBroken show themselves to be awesome musicians and songwriters and with the momentum gained from their debut album, they will no doubt be a more talked about band from now on. If you're a fan of pure metal with a modern sheen, look no further than these guys.

You can stream the entire album, buy the CD and check out more via BornBroken's website - http://brokenmusic.ca/.

BornBroken Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/BornBroken.