Kingdom of Sorrow

Kingdom of Sorrow is the side project of Hatebreed's Jamey Jasta and Crowbar/Down's Kirk Windstein. On the band's second album, "Behind The Blackest Tears," the mighty duo mixes the right amount of aggressive hardcore with the downtuned atmosphere of sludge metal.

"Behind The Blackest Tears" has the sound they achieved on their first record, but KOS injects some new elements and dimensions into its trademark sound. Jamey's vocals are infused with a bit more soulful energy than the shout-vocals he uses in Hatebreed. And Kirk's distinctive raspy vocals and tuneful guitar encapsulate what this project does best.

The 12 tracks are powerful-yet-melodic and vary in aggression. Opener "Enlightened to Extinction" gives you a good example of what’s in store. The riffs, mixed vocals and choruses are just monstrous. The Corrosion of Conformity-styled "God's Law in the Devil's Land" is what KOS does best. "From Heroes To Dust" is something you'd never hear on a Hatebreed album but is very welcomed here. The emotional melodic vocals are mixed with Kirk's sludgy riffs. "Sleeping Beast" is the fastest-paced song of them all, and "Salvation Denied" is a rousing pit-clammering closing to the album.

What Jamey does in Hatebreed, by hardcore standards, is, of course, great. But what he displays in KOS pushes his potential further. That and Kirk's riff brilliance make "Behind The Blackest Tears" a keeper.