It isn't often that a death metal album captures my attention the way that "Death Prevails" has. Hackneyed delivers a brutal, eviscerating delivery of blood drenched, gut ripping death metal. This quintet is surgically precise in their delivery and the quality of music. There is not a bad track in my opinion on this release ("Gut Candy" is the standout track) and the only thing holding it back from being perfect is a minor flaw in the production where the drums are drowned out by the guitars at certain times and the repetition of the formula these guys go by in their structure. Hackneyed assaults the ears and aims to make them bleed.