(HED) PE " Class of 2020"

It's been 11 albums since I paid attention to what HED PE was doing . The first song feels like they have moved in a more straight forward metal direction. The singer is realy the only original member, but DJ Product does play on this album. Their original guitarist also contributes a solo.When they are sticking to stragiht up metal they are not in their sweet pop like they are when devling into poppier hip hop elements. This makes a song like "Watch it Burn" one of the album's tronger moments and " No Days Off" mediocre. The hit a better balance when blending this in a more Limp Bizkit manner , though I always stood by the fact these guys are better at what Limp Bizkit does, their first album just took more chances.

In promo material for the album the singer talks about all the classic hard core he listens to. That is infe and good, but what comes out when applied is something wack like Biohazard. I want more moments like "Last Call" from them. Even though when that song tries to get harder it loses it . Not as much as the attempts at punk on  "Ole Times Sake". They are going for a Drop Kick Murphys thing. It is not the worst song on the album,. but far from the best. "Greedy Girl" finds them back in their sweet with hip hop, reggae and rock. "Nothing Lasts 4ever" is like a pub song, about when Corona. Saying things like protect the weak and elderly is proof these guys are drinking the Kool Aid. They are hoping it's over , rather than hoping it's the end of the world, just the attitude that proves why they can not play metal, because metal should be fueled by darkness.

"We the People " sounds like a more metallic version of Kid Rock. It is better than most of their attmempts at a similar sound. "Overdue" is the album's most melodic moment and it's darkest as well. They use auto tune to create more of a modern pop feel. More often than not this album is a disappointment and lacks what they brough on their debut.  I will round it down to a 6.5 . It comes out August 21st.