Hatebreed aboard the Harbor Lights

Jamey Jasta (born James Shanahan) was an adolescent when his mother took a night job and he joined the hardcore punk scene in New Haven, Connecticut. His first band, Dreadnaught, became Jasta 14 and played locally, but then he found international success when he co-founded Hatebreed in 1994 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Hatebreed straddled the hardcore, heavy metal and metalcore genres and sold 1.2 million records. The band's seventh and most recent album of original material is 2016's The Concrete Confessional. Hatebreed presently consists of Jasta and two original members, guitarist Wayne Lozinak and bassist Chris Beattie, plus guitarist Frank Novinec and drummer Matt Byrne.

Summer started early and Rocks Off began its concert cruises around lower Manhattan. Hatebreed headlined a concert aboard the Harbor Lights on a mist-filled night when at times the waters were rocking even harder than the bands. On this tour, Hatebreed is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the band's debut album and 15 years since the breakthrough album, so tonight's set list was heavy on those two albums, including songs the band normally does not perform live. The repertoire brought the band back to basics. Jasta spit lyrics with his gutteral growl, backed by thrashing guitarwork and pounding rhythms. While the boat tottered from side to side, Hatebreed bludgeoned its seafaring fans with a heavy beatdown. The activated audience responded forcefully, but with no stage on the boat, the only barrier between the band and the audience was a row of fence stanchions that a team of security guards held firm against the hard-moshing fans. Despite restlessness both on the waters and in the boat, the end result was a successful interactive concert event.

Visit Hatebreed at www.hatebreed.com.