I Hate Heroes – ‘Save Yourself’

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Sometimes, when you hear an album, it hits you right where you need it to. I Hate Heroes is a band from my home state of Pennsylvania. Definitely a heavier band, I Hate Heroes has been tiptoeing the fine line between hard pop punk and metalcore, particularly with their debut EP and their claim to fame, a couple of solid pop punk-esque covers of “Blank Space” by Taylor Swift (no, not that cover of “Blank Space”, but still good!) and “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark” by Fall Out Boy.

I had the opportunity to hear Save Yourself, the new full length album from I Hate Heroes that just dropped on September 4, and it was exactly what I needed to hear. The band took a great step toward maturity, but also put forth an effort that is true to their roots, while embracing a heavier, harsher tone that screams (literally) metal.

“Here’s to You” is a really cool intro to the album. It leaves you waiting for the song to just explode in a heavy manner. This song sets a great tone for the album- it features excellent clean and heavy vocals, solid transitions and a catchy, melodic chorus. This leads into a very strong early showing for the album, including “Stand Tall”, which is a very heavy track. The song has a strong, heavy opening that leads to a cool clean vocal progression with a powerful melody. The best part about this track is that it does not lose the heavy feel during the transitions from clean vocals to heavy. The only break from the momentum is in the breakdown where we get a brief, but impactful, moment of serenity before the build to the end.

“Alive” is the lead single from the record, and it is not hard to see why. The track is heavy and features progressive heavy vocals throughout the verse. There are also some really impressive stop lines for the guitar and bass that let the drums carry the vocals, but the chorus line brings you in every time. The breakdown leaves nothing to be desired- a great build into a really cool A cappella group vocal that leads right back into the final chorus of the song.

The current single from the album is “Light the Way”. This song is musically one of the most complicated tracks on the album. There are so many layers between guitar and bass dropping out completely and then coming back into focus. The vocals throughout the large part of the song are mainly clean, with the heavy vocals serving more as a supplement, which is a nice departure from the earlier part of the album. The song keeps up a good pace and has a solid vocal performance. The breakdown kept me on the edge of my seat- as it built, I was waiting for it to come back heavy. The swerve was in the last chorus, as it was a much heavier version of the previous lines, featuring higher vocals and double bass.

One of my favorite tracks on the album is “Silver Linings”. This song features one of the catchiest hooks throughout this new collection of music. The song has a balance where it goes from a poppy, upbeat (yet heavy punk) and transitions into a heavy breakdown. It is a really cool balance that combines a few different feels. I am also a big fan of “The Battle”, where the band’s willingness to experiment with different combinations and variations of each riff are highlighted. To end the album, the band gives us “Sing Me to Sleep”, which unlike the previous 10 tracks is an acoustic song that really puts a bow on a solid album.

I Hate Heroes is poised to be a breakout artist in 2018. With the amount of views they have received on YouTube for the singles “Alive” and “Light the Way” it is no surprise the album is a step in the right direction for this emerging outfit. Make sure you get your copy of Save Yourself, available everywhere now!