There aren’t too many bands who can claim a Music Hall of Fame status so soon into their career. But not all bands have the magic required, and some never do. One album deep, Hinder proved themselves worthy to be inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame on the back of their exceptional debut, ‘Extreme Behaviour.’ With a few twists, turns and trials along the way, Hinder are now gearing up to release their sixth studio album, ‘The Reign’, their second with vocalist Marshal Dutton. A turbulent listen, ‘The Reign’ begs many questions, including is that magic still there, has it been lost, or is it just different?
In the true spirit of the rock n’ roll, ‘The Reign’ starts big and loud with the album’s title track, quickly followed by the slightly less quick to the punch “Burn it Down.” Where the album really finds its feet is with the irrepressible “King of the Letdown”. A single, harmonic driven, riff frenzy with a chorus built to get the blood pumping, it’s bridge section, along with an anthemic outro, sees the track sweep you up, leaving the listener on a high that will only be topped when “King of the Letdown” is experienced live.
In contrast, leading single, “Remember Me”, is not the strongest of the batch. Yet its choice is somewhat justified as it’s laced with hook lines, layered over a strong, musically up-tempo performance by guitarists Joe “Blower” Garvey and Mark King, drummer Cody Hanson, and bassist Mike Rodden. Yet if “Remember Me” has its redeeming qualities, the same can’t be said across the board. “Making it Hard”, “Loser’s Salute” and “Play to Win” come across as ballsy All Time Low as opposed to pure Hinder. All is not lost though, as “Another Way Out” sees the return of the strong, fierce riffing, while “Long Gone,” and a ballad for the broken-hearted boozer “Drink You Away,” round up the bands more sombre side with wonderful energy.
As with their career, throughout ‘The Reign’, Hinder have a handful of questionable moments that don’t quite sit right, despite a sky rocket start and some really solid sounds. Yet Hinder have always adapted. While he still holds the hearts of many a fan, original vocalist Austin Winkler’s departure is not the cause for the changes on ‘The Reign’. In fact, his presence had seen some come to fruition as we hesitantly remember 2008’s ‘Take it to the Limit’. The devil might be in the details, but Marshall Dutton’s vocals are certainly worth a spin. It may not be ‘Extreme Behaviour’ but ‘The Reign’ has a new magic that serves it well enough, showing Hinder as a band constantly evolving yet still retaining the ability to conjure up solid rock n’ roll albums.
