Haste The Day: Dissenter |

A Comeback With Nuances

(2026 – Solid State Records)

Haste The Day’s comeback was long overdue, and it has finally materialized in the form of new material after a long, long time—even though, as is common these days, the band had been releasing various digital singles as a sort of preview of what would become “Dissenter”, their first album in several years.
Be that as it may, this new Haste The Day album has reached us (it’s been here for a while, but it was waiting its turn for us to listen to it), staking out a place for the band in a scene that largely represents the current sound that’s been so in vogue in recent years.
Haste The Day has been around for several years, punctuated by various periods of inactivity or hiatus, depending on how you look at it. The truth is that “Dissenter” marks several milestones; among them, it’s the first album since their official return in 2023, and also the first release since “Coward” came out in 2015, but the most concrete fact is that Haste The Day hasn’t lost its edge, and they’ve updated several aspects of their sound.
After eight years, “Dissaster” builds on Haste The Day’s classic sound, incorporating numerous modern elements and a darker, more oppressive atmosphere—with nuances and moods that convey a sense of progressiveness and technicality in their take on Metalcore, featuring slow, melancholic rhythms, while essentially retaining the essence of what we know as Haste The Day.
That said, there are the occasional nods to structures and riffs borrowed from Metal and even Thrash Metal, but without straying too far beyond the boundaries of the current Metalcore sound.

“Cycles” is just the beginning—a guitar-driven intro that leads into “Shallows”, the opening track of this new Haste The Day album, which showcases a bit of that dark atmosphere we mentioned at the start, with a structure that’s already become classic and somewhat overused in today’s Metalcore scene.
Haste The Day delves deeper into melancholy and an oppressive atmosphere in “Grave”, an interesting track that offers something different in terms of the vocals and their combination with the introspective melodies it contains, but what we definitely consider the best comes with “Burn”, which showcases the side of the band closest to Metal, so to speak. The track is packed with some interesting riffs and a certain speed that gives it considerably more aggression than usual.
And as if to continue that momentum—at least in terms of aggression—we come to “Liminal”, much closer to Hardcore but maintaining a melodic quality in its choruses, laden with rather dark undertones, and featuring a guest appearance by Garrett Russell of Silent Planet.
Right on its heels comes “Gnasher”, another of the album’s standout moments, channeling Haste The Day’s signature aggression with a distinct atmosphere. The sound is packed with heavy riffs, plenty of pounding, and vocals that—more than just growls—are screams of despair and rage amid all the heaviness the band can produce; and in case there was any doubt, “Heretic” confirms that Haste The Day’s metalcore isn’t rusty—it’s in great shape.
In a way, “Escape” stands apart from the rest of the previous songs, yet it also offers a sense of continuity—at least in terms of the atmosphere it creates with its underlying melancholy. A sort of mid-tempo ballad with a contemplative feel, it might be the album’s densest and darkest moment.
“Adrift” isn’t far behind, and after a long, rather somber and gloomy intro, we encounter long, slow, and drowsy passages, with raspy vocals and a sense of living each moment as if it were the last.
In contrast, “Teeth” features aggressive riffs interwoven into a somewhat mid-tempo atmosphere with an oppressive yet melodic vibe, before finally moving into the last track on “Dissenter”, titled “Oblivion”—essentially a ballad that partly brings together many of the elements present on the album, and which, ultimately, might be the song that best sums up almost everything Haste The Day brings us in this new release.
It might be unfair to compare “Dissenter” to their previous albums, but at the same time, it’s necessary—and to a certain extent, almost inevitable—which leads us to wonder if this is the best the band has done so far. The answer is yes, and no.
Haste The Day maintains its essence, makes its sound much more complex, and fills us with nuances that were previously unthinkable but that, in some ways, may be more in tune with the current Metalcore scene. There’s a notable evolution in the songwriting—in how it handles different moments, building us up, bringing us down, and building us up again—but in some ways, “Dissenter” lacks the freshness and naturalness of their early days.
Here, the band chose to experiment with different sounds and atmospheres, all driven by the guitars—which play a major role in the album—but this increased complexity may rob it of the simplicity of earlier days. Yeah, are we getting old and complicated? Maybe, but in the same way, the passage of time makes us better, like fine wine.

That could well be the case with Haste The Day, a band that’s back after a fairly long hiatus, and whose first release is “Dissenter“, an album that navigates a Metalcore scene where, in general, the same formulas are constantly repeated. The brilliance and complexity of the foundations ensure that “Dissenter” can carve out a prominent place in the scene.
The sound of “Dissenter” doesn’t have much to stand out—it’s pretty much more of the same we’re already familiar with in today’s Metalcore scene. Lots of bass, lots of heavy pounding, sounds that lean toward the technological—in short, lacking in naturalness—but on the other hand, you have to pay attention to the vocal treatment and the various guitar sounds, which are perhaps the highlight of the mix and where the production work really stands out.
And finally, we come to the artwork, which is where Solid State really gets on my nerves—with something we’ve been complaining about for quite some time now, and that has to do with the physical releases. The infamous “cheap cardboard box” makes another appearance on a CD from this label, but with the added aggravation that we don’t even get a booklet with lyrics, photos, or anything else to reward those of us who invest in this type of release. Just some technical details and the band’s lineup—and nothing else—printed right on the cardboard itself!!! Cost-cutting is really reaching unimaginable extremes. Contrary to what we’ve always maintained, in this case a physical release isn’t worth it. Listening to it digitally is enough—and it even prevents the cardboard box from breaking out of nowhere.
“Dissenter” marks the official return of Haste The Day, with an evolution that’s somewhat expected and an album that establishes them as one of the best acts in the metalcore universe—quite similar in terms of ideas, yet “Dissenter” somehow sets Haste The Day apart from the rest.
Here’s the official music video for “Burn”, one of the tracks from “Dissenter,” and, of course, the band’s social media links so you can stay up to date on their latest news…

https://www.facebook.com/hastetheday

https://www.instagram.com/hastethedayofficial