Haste The Day - 'Dissenter' - Review

BAND. Haste The Day being active in 2026 is already mental, releasing yet another comeback album is getting surreal, but dropping absolute bangers on their seventh is truly unreal. Obviously, this has been in the oven for quite some time now, first teased in 2024 with 'Burn', followed by some killer promo singles, but experiencing Dissenter in its entirety is a whole other experience, and a brilliant one at that, a seventh studio record worthy of your attention!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0ADts5AquI

REVIEW. A proper full-studio album by true scene veterans that know their craft through and through and make a seamless return to their highest form as if the last 15 years didn't happen. Naturally, the raw intensity and primal passion of their early records is diluted into a more coherent and deliberate outlet, but it still works perfectly in modern context, as relevant, relatable and adequate as always. After all that time and frequent breaks, Haste The Day remain true to their nature, true to Solid State Records, and so true to the scene they helped build and shape to their liking.

SONGS. I deliberately labeled Dissenter an experience, a captivating musical tale that gets its stompy arena opener with 'Cycles' and anthemic conclusion with 'Oblivion'. Inbetween, a pulsating mixture of galopping riffs, aethereal melodies and massive hooks, spread evenly and strategically across the 11 tracks. The signature and volatile 'Shallows', the fittingly uplifting collab with Silent Planet on 'Liminal', thunderous rager 'Burn', the delicate 'Adrift', the frantic 'Heretic', all the way to the disarmingly flawless 'Grave', plenty to unpack here for old and new fans alike.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8bps2CbILo

OVERALL. Happy times for scene kids, metalcore connoisseurs and elder emos with absolutely nothing negative worth mentioning. Sure, it isn't When Everything Falls (2005), but it doesn't have to and given the 20+ years since that, Dissenter is a marvelous addition to an already rich discography. You never know, but somehow I cannot see Haste The Day going fully active again so enjoy it to the max while it lasts.

Haste The Day - 'Dissenter'

Country: United States

Release: 1 May

Label: Solid State Records