Class of 2020 Reviews

I thought this album would be a complete phone in. I mean, with one original member, can we reasonably call them (hed) pe anymore?

All the same, I was wrong. There has been a real focus on quality from all members of the band. Whilst I think the Broke-inspired artwork was a bit disingenuous when it came to marketing, there are definitely some songs in here that hold up nicely. Unfortunately, (hed)??? has a habit of releasing albums that contain strong songs mixed in with weaker ones…And it’s the weak ones that start to rot the whole bushel. There have been some complaints from the (hed) community that the album is too short. For me, it felt about right. The songs didn’t overstay their welcome and even at half an hour, it still feels like a full album.

It should be said that I’m that annoying guy living in the past and praying for a final album with all members, or close to all members, reuniting for one final album with the older ingredients thrown in (a dream which feels closer to manifestation at seeing them all hanging out–bar Wesstyle–in online forums. Anyway, Jah sold this album as more punk, but this comes off more punk-reggae-metal…which certainly isn’t a bad thing. The album is good enough, and I’m happy to say it won’t go down as a complete train wreck in my books. At the end of the day, I’m grateful for these guys. It’s nice to see they’re still in the game, and they’ll always hold a special place in my heart.

FIRST BLOOD (3/5)

A decent intro. And catchy “God, gold or glory! Divide and conquer, we’re all living in sin!”

WATCH IT BURN (4/5)

A great jam. Dark riffs in the verse, and then a really wonderful reggae/punk influenced sing-a-long chorus. Interesting lyrics too. Also, this is where Jah’s vocals feel really controlled. Not too squawky, and a really nice range thrown in for good measure.

NO DAYS OFF (2.5/5)

Cool riff. It’s okay. For me, Jah’s vocals weaken it though. Meh.

DEATH AWAITS (3/5)

A good enough single. Great riff, but it’s not blowing me out of the water like previous releases.

LAST CALL (2.5/5)

Nice to hear Boyce on the old melodica. Best thing about this song! I would love him back as a full member. As the old saying goes: you don’t know what you got til it’s gone.

OLE TIME SAKE (3/5)

Catchy chorus. It’s nice. Interesting style here. And piano too! Love to see (hed) pushing the form! It’s brave. I can see it being divisive though.

GREEDY GIRL (4/5)

Nice lyrics. It really works. If that’s Chizad in the outro, bring him back! Lovely soloing. Those gorgeous guitar howls sound like Slightly Stoopid.

NOTHING LASTS 4EVER (2/5)

It’s catchy enough, and I appreciate the message…But musically, this does almost nothing for me. I’ll say nothing more, because I don’t want to sound too nasty. I do love these guys after all. But in my humble opinion, it’s these kinds of songs that kind of drag the album down.

WE THE PEOPLE (2.5/5) * Could be a grower though.

Odd that they used the opening sample from OIA’s 'Chicken' and Insomnia’s 'Children'...Oh and a bass line very reminiscent of P.O.S. I would love to know the motivation behind this. Very nostalgic here, which can only be a good thing for me. But I’m not sure how I feel about this song as an overall piece. It has an interesting quality to it, but I’m not sold.

OVERDUE (4.8/5)

Strangely enough, to me, this is the strongest song on the album. It’s slow, sludgy and experimental. This could have played as a really nice intro actually. There is an emotive quality inherent to this song (something vaguely Pac Belly in nature), and Jah, once again, used his vocals to incredible effect. Musically, it's beautiful and immensely haunting. Post-apocalyptic even! This one got into my bones immediately, and if I return to the album, it will largely be for this song.

I hope ya'll enjoy it! x

I'm really liking the album! (hed) is finally back!

This makes me happy. And it's nice to see there are still some members lurking in the shadows of this forum. Hahaha.

What song is really doing it for you?

greedy girl, overdue, ole time sake, watch it burn, last call, .. quite a few already, and some of them will probably grow even more on me.
but i don't think any of them are really bad.

Glad you guys dig the album. Me, not so much. One word review: forgettable.

Positives:
-First Blood is an okay single; it was smart to put this out as the first single. It's one of the two passable songs.

-The verses in Watch it Burn sound like classic hed.

-The second half of No Days Off is kinda sick guitar wise.

-Overdue is by far the best track; it has a very dark experimental vibe to it and it shows that (hed) can still come up with something that is them when they try.

Negatives:
-I hate the production. I get it. It's supposed to be raw. They got flack for all the effects they used on Stampede and it seems like they purposely just went the complete opposite way. There's a way you can make it sound gritty but not shitty (lol) just go back and listen to Forever! The garage sounding production, I guess, is just not my cup of tea.

-The majority of these songs are bland and forgettable. Nothing sticks out. Not the lyrics or vocals, not the riffs, bass, nothing. Yeah there are some cool moments, but nothing that will bring me back to listen.

-Remember when I mentioned how Watch it Burn's verses are like classic (hed)? Yeah, unfortunately its completely ruined by that chorus. What the fuck? They've always done stuff like this where they have really jarring changes from verse to chorus and sometimes it works. It didn't here. The verses sound so angry and I expected it to build to something explosive and they did the opposite. Ruined what could have been the best song on the album.

-Continuing from the last point, songs like No Days Off and Last Call are songs that could have been great but then are stalled by mediocre/forgettable choruses or structures.

-The biggest insult was Jahred saying he wanted to "go back to that vintage Broke sound". Lol ok.


Say what you want about Stampede, but I liked it better than this. If you didn't like the auto tune that's fine but to me it did sound like (hed) p.e., just a version that was trying to modernize themselves. And it birthed PWF which I still listen to regularly.

With the last couple albums there have been less and less songs that make it onto rotation on my playlists but with each album there was at least one. Forever! had "Hurt", Evolution had "No Tomorrow", and Stampede had "PWF". I can honestly say that this new album does not have one song that I will come back to. Which sucks. Because this seems to be the last album from them for a good while.

Oh well.

Really glad you both dig Overdue. It gives me goosebumps. Pac Belly and compelling.

Yeah, that's interesting Madman. Been getting major love on social media though. Not sure I get it. Hahaha.


Hahaha. Yeah...No Broke sound in this. I think it was cheeky marketing on Jah's behalf.

I gotta say...I appreciated that crazy change in Watch It Burn. I found it surprising and refreshing. Though I totally appreciate they can take this too far.

Look, nothing comes close to the first five albums for me. Though I did really love N.W.O.

It's really great to see the old crew bar Wesstyle hanging out. Reunion. Can a man dream? Hahaha.

really digging greedy girl more and more. have probably heard it like 50 times now.
for me, the song is a great "goodbye and thank you for the ride" song from jahred, wrapping everything up. think it's weird it's not the last song on the album.

Ow OK this one is already more hed album after a few listens, some tracks in hed style like First Blood, Watch It Burn, Last Call, Greedy Girl and the best track Overdue.
But I feel MadMadMan565 in the way that (also) this one doesn't have some 'outstanding' track(s), vocal(s), riff(s).

Love to see work of old/ex members on this album; I mean so far hed is Jared and I hope this can change in the future.
If there is a future....you guys make me think otherwise?

Found this... https://metalnoise.net/2020/08/review-class-of-2020-by-hedp-e

Here's one good thing about this album. It made me go back and listen to Broke again. Haven't listened to that album in a good while and now it's been on rotation nonstop. Such a classic album that still holds up beautifully.

Doesn't even sound like the same band.

[quote="blackout"]Ow OK this one is already more hed album after a few listens, some tracks in hed style like First Blood, Watch It Burn, Last Call, Greedy Girl and the best track Overdue.
But I feel MadMadMan565 in the way that (also) this one doesn't have some 'outstanding' track(s), vocal(s), riff(s).

Yeah. Agreed with Madman. Nothing really sticks. I guess we're getting old. If you listen to the old stuff, 'Class of 2020' pales in comparison.

But yeah agreed (hed), next to Overdue, Greedy Girl is their greatest track on this album. I wonder why...Hint...It starts with C. Greedy Girl incorporates what made me dig (hed) pe in the first place—that being that, in one song, they touch on so many different genres at once.

“I wrote this track for a local film company here in Boise, Idaho; for the closing credits. The movie was filmed at The Old Boise Penitentiary and the story was based on the hauntings at the prison. We shot the entire video in the solitary confinement room where men have died. ‘Overdue’ took on a much more personal note. The song and video are about insecurity and depression"

https://youtu.be/-obkxKD_txY

(hed)p.e.-"Class Of 2020" Review

So the last (hed)p.e. album, "Stampede", was probably their worst release by far thanks mainly to its heavy use of autotune/modern hip-hop influences. So now in 2020, a virus has hit the globe meaning that concerts are gone for who knows how long. Luckily, Jared listened to fan's comments and stated that the autotune would be turned off on the next album and because of "Broke" coming out 20 years prior, the album was said to be a throwback to "Broke" plus the album cover was similar to the "Broke" album, seeing that "Broke" is my all-time favorite (hed)p.e. album, I had high hopes for this one. I also looked back at my reviews of previous (hed)p.e. albums and have listened to their entire discography again recently and realized that I may have overrated some of them, so I will update the ratings and my opinions on them after this review. But anyway, onto the review, how was the album, let's find out as I review the album track-by-track(*not including hidden or bonus tracks*)

1. First Blood
An enjoyable opening track with a heavy vibe. I like the verses but the chorus could be a little better
Rating: 3.5/5

2. Watch It Burn
Like this one a lot from the heavy guitar driven verses to the well done reggae like chorus
Rating: 4/5

3. No Days Off
This track is kinda brought down by Jared's vocals throughout, they're screechy and it feels unnecessary and I feel that his age is starting to show. Decent track though and I like the guitar.
Rating: 3/5

4. Death Awaits
A somewhat enjoyable rap metal track, but again I feel that Jared's age is beginning to show in his vocals.
Rating: 3.5/5

5. Last Call(featuring DJ Product)
Another somewhat enjoyable track with reggae influence throughout, but I expected more from DJ Product's appearance on this track. Chorus could be better, but the song does a have a cool melodica outro.
Rating: 3.5/5

6. Ole Time Sake
Not a big fan of this one, just feels like a generic ska song. Average.
Rating: 2.5/5

7. Greedy Girl(featuring Chad "Chizad" Benekos)
The track I was most looking forward to mainly because it features one of (hed)'s original guitarists, while I expected more, it's actually one of the better made tracks on this album. Chad delivers some enjoyable guitar playing though.
Rating: 4/5

8. Nothing Lasts 4ever(The Ballad Of C19)
I like the chorus, verses could be better. Overall, a somewhat enjoyable reggae influenced punk track.
Rating: 3.5/5

9. We The People
Chorus is catchy, but overall nothing very memorable. Decent track, I guess.
Rating: 3/5

10. Overdue
Good thing is this album saves the best for last, a somewhat heavy ballad with good personal sounding lyrics. Just a well constructed song.
Rating: 4/5

Overall, I found this album to be a fair listen, but just that, fair. I also found it underwhelming mainly because the album was supposed to be a throwback to "Broke" but doesn't even come close to sounding like that album. If this is supposed to be the last (hed)p.e. album, I say it's time for them to call it a day. Still though, it is certainly better than the last album.

OVERALL RATING: 6.5/10

Updated thoughts and ratings on (hed)p.e.'s discography:

(hed)pe(1997): 8.5/10(awesome debut album)
Broke(2000): 9/10(still is and always will be my favorite (hed) album)
Blackout(2003): 8/10(still the last great (hed) album)
Only In Amerika(2004): 5/10(still a mediocre listen for me)
Back 2 Base X(2006): 7.5/10(hed's best post-Jive album)
Insomnia(2007): 4.5/10(still one of hed's worst)
New World Orphans(2009): 7/10(definite improvement over Insomnia and one of hed's best indie albums)
Truth Rising(2010): 6.5/10(heavier than NWO, but not exactly better, still a fair listen though)
Evolution(2014): 7/10(expected more given the 4-year gap, still a good listen)
Forever!(2016): 7/10(an improvement over Evolution but not a a definite improvement)
Stampede(2019): 4.5/10(my least favorite of their discography)
Class Of 2020(2020) 6.5/10(was supposed to be a throwback to Broke, but just sounded like their other Subnoize albums, still a fair listen though)