Evolution-Reviews and thoughts

So, what do you guys think. Personally, ive only listened to it a couple of times, and to be honest is the second time ever a hed p. e. album hasnt grabbed my attention, the first one being blackout. sure there are some great parts, and the guitar in some songs are fuckin epic, but i dont know, i kinda miss the hip hop aspect of hed. im gonna give it a couple more listens and see what happens.

I agree for the most part with what you're saying. I said this in the other thread, but on all other (hed) releases, each song was different from the next. It was very diverse, where as on this, it flows together REALLY nicely but thats partly due to all the songs kind of sounding the same which is not a terribly good thing.

There are some REALLY nice fucking songs on this, but there are also some very forgettable ones. The ones that are really good seem to be the ones where it's more "hed pe" sounding, I don't really know to describe it anyway else, the rapping/attitude/heavyness aspects. The best two examples are Lost in Babylon and No Tomorrow. No Turning Back is also pretty good, especially as an opener.

There are certain songs on here that are not bad songs, but (hed) has such a distinct sound/style that they come off as generic and boring when compared to the good ones.

There are some gems on here; Lost in Babylon for some reason reminds me of something that could have been on Broke. The guitar intro reminded me of Killing Time, and the verses are FUCKING AWESOME!!!! And No Tomorrow is one of my favorite (hed) songs in a long long time.

Also lol @ them censoring nigga on No Tomorrow.

Album sucks in my opinion. "No Tomorrow" and "Lost in Babylon" are the best from what I heard.

2nd listen through: liking the reggae tracks the best. track 10-11-12

I also don't know...I mean it's cool to hear new hed music after what 4 years?, but Truth Rising eats Evolution for breakfast!
They put more work on guitar and solos, but I miss 'hed vibe', thing that separated them from other bands.
Also I still can't accept that Product is out; this album could sound more hed pe wit him on the board.

I could not agree more with the comments my friends. After only one listen I find myself greatly disappointed. (hed) are my favourite band, so I was very keen on tasting their latest dish. This album is extremely generic and something I consider to be their weakest yet. The reggae tracks, whilst decent in quality, feel kind of tacked on to the end of a 'samey' album, with 'samey' lyrics and a 'samey' vocal range. Whilst they could be commended for making a very focused and consistent album, my feeling is that they are unique and worth listening to because of their contradictions musically and lyrically; Jah ranting and raving about pussy in one moment and then singing about heart-break the next. A curious friend asked me what they sounded like the other day after glancing at my (hed) pe bumper sticker tacked to my drivers window and I responded by telling them they are a hip-hop/rap/rock/punk/reggae/jazz/metal fusion. I was very proud of this comment and upon reflection, it's this schizophrenic quality that I adore from (hed) pe which I feel is SORELY missing from this album. This album ain't bad by any measure, but it's not great either...and (hed) ARE great! I expect nothing but magic from these guys and this one falls well short of the mark. I feel the same about the newer releases from other bands I love (particularly of the nu-metal variety) and I'm now finding myself asking the existential question- 'Am I just getting older? Am I just getting over this sound?' I inevitably struggle to find an honest answer. I sometimes argue 'fuck no, listen to S/T, B2BX and Broke and I still rock the fuck out' but then...those sounds came at me when I was an angsty teenager and receptive to that kind of input and perhaps I'm only vibing on the dejavu. I want (hed) pe to find their sound again so I can blow this theory out of the water, I really do...But this album would have been more accurately titled De-Evolution.

It happened today during my ride to work to skip a song(s) of Evolution; don't even remember when something like that happend to me.
This one needs and deserves to be heard, but there was no enthusiasm which has always been present already at the first listening of previous hed albums.

@hed_2012: you are not old or tired of this sound LOL: accept that nu-metal, as we did once knew and experienced, is dead. They are still some (new) bands out there who try but....nowadays hed is still one of the few bands who delivers constantly 'same' type/genre of music.

Daaamn, haven't been here in the longest. But I got my copy in the mail and decided to see if this site was still up!

I guess we all share different opinions about this cd, because I personally like it. I like the heavier sound that they chose to go with. Im not gonna lie, i do miss the "I dont give a fuck, never did never will" attitude that has been with from the start

ive been listening to the album on repeat a lot. im starting to like some songs a lot, but i still miss the hip hop and the punk. hope the next album bring those elements back, if there is a next album.

I dont really like it, but i only listened thru the album once yet. It usually grows on me. I like Let it rain. But if feels like every song is the same tempo and groove. :/ dissapointed.

I have to say the album grows on me eventhough i said really didnt like it at first. Its just different. Takes a few listens to appreciate i think. Good thing is music production is spot on for this album. sounds awesome!

yeah same here, but still, is one of my least favorites

its growing on me, but haven't found one track i skip back to again and again because of its awsomeness.

yeah same here, its because there isnt one to skip back to. i really really like Lost in Babylon, No Tomorrow, Never Alone and Let it Burn.

No Tomorrow is the only song on the album that I can play over and over again. I do like Lost in Babylon and No Turning Back as well. I've pretty much gotten bored with any of the other songs and I only played them a couple of times.

I am curious to hear the 3 bonus tracks too.

there are bonus tracks?

Yeah. I don't remember where to get them though.

1. Onemorebody (remix)
2. Maria Gasolina
3. Nothing to Fear

what bonus tracks?????????????

Lol yeah I didn't know about any bonus tracks dudes..

Whoa It's been a long long time since I posted here, and it's been an even longer time since we got some fresh (hed) music..

It took some time to write this post b/c I kind of lost my interest in (hed) the last few years.
I've always been into heavy and original music, and noticed myself tuning into a lot of other artists and kind of ignoring my old stash of (hed) records. Don't get me wrong, occasionaly I still listen to Broke/OIA to get myself cranked up in the gym, and always enjoy a cruise with a couple of songs from Blackout/B2BX.

But somehow the "magic" from Insomnia,NWO & Truth Rising faded for me, and when I got back to it it all sounded a bit too much of the same for me. Also, I still have a hard time listening to any feat with a Kottonmouth King on those records. IMO those records are full of fillers and half assed tracks.
I also feel like the deeper you dig in the meaning or overal feeling, the less you will find. And I need my music to feed my soul, give me new perspectives and generally, I need my music as fuel to rock on. In above order ( Insomnia, NWO, Truth Rising ) the songs felt more empty, and because of that I kind of lost interest.

I still support (hed) and go to a show when they visit the Netherlands. And still enjoy it, but as hed 2012 mentioned, I was 14 when Nu-Metal hit the soundwaves of the local dutch radio stations. And that was 14 years ago. Maybe I'm getting to old for this shit, and grew tired of it.

Soooo, when (hed) announced the deal with pavement and the new record I kind of was skeptic at first. I was not planning on being stoked for another round of brainless tracks with Jah ranting and whatever garbage kottonmouth MC joining in for talks about weed or whatever it is they do in their spare time.

But when I listened to the sampler a few weeks ago I got that familiar feeling every (hed) fan has when a new record is on the way. I started checking the facebook page again, started checking this forum more often... and a few weeks later the much awaited record landed on the doorstep.

I didn't "fall in love" immediately at my first listening session. But later on it grew on me a lot.
I'm always more of a metal guy opposed to punk, so I really dig the heavy riffing and overal darker vibe on this one. As a matter of fact, if you dig back to "older" metal bands like Black Sabbath you can hear similarities. You can hear that they actually took their time on a record for change, and you can hear that they want to break away from what they were doing a couple of years ago.

Sure, it's not as frantic and the pace is a lot lower on this record. But it's deeper, it has more to it. It feels more complete. And sure as hell sounds more mature than anything they have ever done. Can you imagine banging your head to these tracks in a live setting? I really think this is one is the strongest and most sincere records they have ever done.

And you know what, bands can't keep doing the same thing over and over again. Bands change their styles as they progress as musicians. Bands grow, and (hed) has shown a lot of growth with Evolution.

Be happy that we still have a band like (hed) around, I for one am excited to see where this will go:-)

Bonus tracks? wtf?

http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/hedp-e-signs-with-pavement-entertainment/

Read the tracklist in that article. Every article I've read on news sites lists the same bonus tracks.

They are One More Body (Remix), Maria Gasolina, and Nothing to Fear

Holy shit on my father's balls...I can't believe this place is still even remotely active, haha. That's cool, though!

I really, really dig Evolution. It wasn't what I expected, but when they released One More Body, I was blown away. The riffs, the drums, Jahred's different vocal approach...all really solid. And then most of the album turned out to be just that, and it's fucking awesome. It's like a mix of Black Sabbath and 80's hardcore. The first eight tracks on the album make it the best thing they've done since Blackout, no joke. The filler interlude and last three songs aren't really my jam, but they are really well done for what they are, and they will probably grow on me in time.

I also really appreciate that the lyrics are more on the personal side like their old shit, rather than political rant after political rant. This is reflected in what Jahred has been posting about on Facebook over the last several years. He's certainly had some kind of epiphany, because he's much more level-headed about life and interacts with his fans all the time. It's pretty great.

For now, Never Alone is my favorite song on the album, by far. Insanely catchy chorus and a great solo by Jaxon. Lost in Babylon is also really fucking killer and a great throwback to their early years.

I'm definitely gonna try to catch them on tour with Dope next month, since they're coming to Chicago. Last time I saw them was on the third Head 2 Head tour with AHC, and they were better than like the previous 3 times I has seen them. I'm really gonna miss Product's stage presence, though. It's weird that he's gone.

man i gotta say im loving Evolution by now. It needed a few listens but now i think its really dope!! best album by hed in a long while!!