Speaking broadly, there are two ways to review a comeback album from a legacy band: to compare it to the band's back catalogue or to try your best to listen to it as its own distinct work of art. For most Haste the Day fans, who've been waiting over a decade for a new album, it would be difficult not to compare 2026's Dissenter to its predecessors. Dissenter is effectively the band's second comeback album, drawing direct comparisons to 2015's Coward, meanwhile, they'd both have to live up to the reputation of 2010's Attack of the Wolf King, where Haste the Day ended the first leg of their career with what many fans believe to be their crowning achievement. However, I find myself uniquely positioned to view Dissenter on its own terms, as someone who's only ever been on the fringes of HTD's fandom. I've always liked what I heard from them, but I never fully bought in or became a repeat listener -- that is, not until the newest singles started dropping. Songs like "Burn," "Liminal," and especially "Oblivion" (the album's epic closer) were why I needed to get my hands on Dissenter.

This seventh studio album opens with a rather pointless instrumental track titled "Cycles." At only 77 seconds long, its inclusion is a minor quibble, but it's still a shame because "Shallows" would have made for a killer opener. It sets the stage for everything else to come, with its punchy snare hits, modern guitar tones, impassioned screaming, and pitch-perfect melodic choruses. From the get-go, one of Dissenter's greatest assets is the interplay between vocalists Stephen Keech and Brennan Chaulk (who both play double duty throughout the album, Keech as producer and Chaulk as rhythm guitarist). Keech sounds incredible at every turn, whether screaming melodically (as on "Grave") or while screaming atop the album's softest, most ambient moments (such as on the verses of "Escape"). But I think it's Chaulk's work here that really seals the deal on how effectively captivating Dissenter is. In an era when post-hardcore and metalcore are often treated as a pipeline to pop music, Chaulk's melodies never sound out-of-place, as if he's chasing a hook or trying to make the catchiest chorus possible. Instead, he channels the likes of European metal bands (The Ocean and Katatonia both come to mind), maintaining the dark, pleading tone of the music and crafting melodies that are memorably sticky without betraying the genre.

While I've made it a point to not compare Dissenter to Haste the Day's past albums, I find it difficult, nevertheless, to avoid comparing the band to their peers in the genre -- in both positive and negative ways. On the positive side, this album sounds about as good as anything else coming out within this genre in the 2020s. To that end, Stephen Keech deserves high praise; his production work has thrust HTD into the modern metal scene as if the band never missed a beat. The work of guitarists Scott Whelan and Dave Krysl, bassist Mike Murphy, and drummer Giuseppe Capolupo shines through on every track, never sounding muddy or buried but, at the same time, never sounding fake or overprocessed. However, there's not much about this album that sounds particularly distinct or unique to HTD. If you heard the intro to "Burn" out of context, you'd probably think you were listening to August Burns Red. Multiple songs sound shockingly similar to tour mates Norma Jean, especially the album centerpiece "Gnasher," where it 100% sounds like Cory Brandan is singing the chorus (not to mention the lyrics utilizing Norma Jean's catchphrase "all hail"). Some songs pursue the same commercial metal sounds that labelmates Wolves at the Gate harnessed on their 2022 album, Eulogies; additionally, Dissenter follows a conceptual storyline which bears several similarities to Wolves' 2025 album Wasteland. Now, these soundalike comparisons won't be negatives for everyone. I'm sure this album will scratch the itch for plenty of Norma Jean fans, and overall, I think Dissenter tackles its themes and narrative more effectively than Wasteland.

I previously referred to "Gnasher" as the album's centerpiece, which is true for a few reasons: sitting exactly in the middle of the tracklist, it's one of the album's most gratifying tracks; it introduces the concept of the protagonist being a "dissenter" in the face of a beast-like, authoritarian antagonist, which is where the album transitions from its more nihilistic and angry front half to its more reflective and spiritually complex back-half; and it also marks a notable switch from more straightforward, radio/single tracks ("Shallows" through "Liminal") to a more exploratory and expansive set of songs. "Heretic" explodes with two minutes of high octane punk energy, "Teeth" incorporates choirs into its odd time signatures, and, as mentioned earlier, "Oblivion" concludes the album's sonic and dystopian journey in appropriately epic fashion. The final lyrics we hear are, "Will you stay? / Stay with me until the end / As we fade into the blue oblivion." This open-ended presentation of a "blue oblivion" is presented as the answer to the ominous red of the album artwork, and lyrics suggest, quite movingly, that moving into the future and trying to escape the systems which oppress us isn't about having perfect confidence in what the future holds, but rather that we have community and loved ones to walk into the future alongside us. Similarly, we don't know what the future holds for Haste the Day; will they make another album in two years, in ten years, or never again? Well, I sure hope this reunion sticks. With Keech at the head as both frontman and producer, I'm excited by the prospects of what Haste the Day might have in store for us. In the meanwhile, Dissenter marks a triumphant return, and it's one of my favorite metal albums of 2026.

- Review date: 4/30/26, written by Chase Tremaine of Jesusfreakhideout.com