I was going through the archives of this site, and I am absolutely apalled at the lack of a review for this CD. I was at Warped Tour a few years ago (four, I think), and I saw Hot Water Music play. I was blown away by their sound (mind you, this was when I was a huge Saves the Day fan and was convinced that they were still "underground"). While the Hot Water Music was still playing, I high-tailed it to the merch booth to pick up some sounds from them. I asked the merch guy which was the best CD (for there were a wide assortment of them) and he pointed out "Fuel For the Hate Game."

This CD blew me away. The musicianship is absolutely amazing. Both guitars work in tandem to form beautiful chords and interesting riffs. The bass lines are insane bordering on keeping the anchor to the chords to leading the melodies to harmonizing with intricate chords. This album to this day still has some of my favorite drumming. Heavy and driving, yet refined and planned carefully. What truly gets me is the dueling half-sung shouts/hardcore vocals that tend to harmonize. It's what makes this band unique.

A true gem on this CD is Blackjaw, a 3/4 rocker that features one of the sickest bass lines shadowing slightly dissonant chords. The breakdown features amazing drum fills that complement the music as much as they add to it. Other greats include 220 Years, Turnstile, The Sleeping Fan, and Facing and Backing, but in general, this whole album rips.

This album doesn't feel like most other Hot Water Music, and the tempos as well as dynamics are much more varied. This CD is definately in my top ten, and I base most of my modern music opinions on it. Without this CD, I probably wouldn't listen to hardcore at all today.