Hailing from Oklahoma City, this hard rock fivesome are here to show us what they got and nobody is going to “hinder” (get in the way of) them. Hinder, a band who is trying to bring back the old rock form to which sex and drugs and rock and roll weren’t a sin, but a way of life so to speak. They released their debut album last September entitled “Extreme Behavior” through Universal Records which is a good title for an album and which basically sums up the entire album in just 2 words. This is the band’s first and only record thus far since being formed about 5 years ago. They are a band who have taken notes from legend bands such as The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith just to name a few and are nothing like your current rock and roll bands who think they know best. According to Hanson, “We wanted to go out there and kick ass like they did in the '80s.” and so far, they are. Hinder are Austin Winkler on vocals, Joe Garvey on guitars, Mark King on guitars, Mike Rodden on bass and last but not least, Cody Hanson on drums. Now lets take you to the “Extreme Behavior” of the album.

The album starts off with their first single “Get Stoned”. Much do the song title, the song has nothing to do with the party antics that some people may think. “The sex is so much better when you’re mad at me”, is bascially a guy who cannot get away from his annoying girlfriend, so when they fight, they rely on make up sex and pretend like nothing happened. Filled with great guitar riffs and an in your face touch that makes this a good track.

“By the Way”, starts with an acoustic filled intro and guitar riffs further in and soft melodies throught the entire song make it a good listenable track. You can almost feel what Austin is feeling when he sings this song because it can relate to almost anyone in reality. Basically it’s about a girl who enters a relationship trying to change the guy so he can become a better person, but seeing as the guy is too stubborn (as most of us are), she gets fed up and goes her own way. ‘By the way, by the way, don’t say I didnt warn you that I’ll always stay the same’. No girl is gonna change or tell him to be somebody he is really not.

“Nothin’ Good About Goodbye”, another great ballad filled with hard-edge attitude and a great melody. Simply about a guy trying to leave his girlfriend but she keeps crawling back and doesn’t want to lose him, I bet we’ve all been there before.

The next track “Bliss (I Don’t Wanna Know)” is another great energetic track filled with great a great melody and a nice rhythm to go along with it. The song is about getting so obliterated to forget a ruptured relationship that 'I can hardly see what's in front of me because the vodka's running on empty, I can't stay sober if it's over’, in other words he’s drinking his pain away and ‘I don’t wanna know it’s over, so save your goodbye kiss’, bascially he doesn’t want to know that she’s ending it with him just to save the pain of going through a break up, believe me, I’ve been there.

“Better Than Me”, another love ballad filled with great love emtion. It has a very nice melody and the lyrics are so deep in this song. ‘I told myself I won’t miss you but I remember what it feels like beside you’, even though he loves his girl so much, he thinks she deserves someone who is better than him.

"Lips of an Angel", wow this song amazes me everytime and it’s sad that the only reason some people know who Hinder are is because of this song. Yes radio stations only started to play this song early this year but damn, Hinder aren’t all about 1 song are they now. Anyways, most likely the best track on the entire album and my favorite aswell. "Lips Of An Angel" is a heart-felt ballad filled with a lot of emotion and something you can’t get away from. ‘Well, my girls in the next room, sometimes I wish she was you, I guess we never really moved on, ‘ shows how a guy and a girl still have feelings for each other but the only problem is.. both of them are in another relationship and talk on the phone at night ‘Honey why you calling me so late’ and hope that their partners don’t catch them in crime. A very romantic song and perhaps a good song to play to your own girlfriend on guitar if you have one.

The album closes off with a track called “Shoulda”, a hard-rocking ballad that shows that not saying I love you in a relationship ‘When you said those three words I kinda freaked out’ can end it. In this case, the girl said it first and the guy basically wasn’t ready for it and doesn’t know if he’s ready to say it back. Hence the Shoulda, woulda, coulda, but when you start thinking about that, it’s too late in most cases.

In all, this album has gotten my attention. If you like old style hard rock, such as Aerosmith, Rolling Stones, Bad Company, bands like that, then I would suggest you go out, buy the 10-track “Extreme Behavior” and enjoy it because I assure you will not be disappointed. In a relationship problem filled album, you can almost relate to every song on the entire album. Everyone in this world has bad relationships, nobody is ever perfect, but next time you go out and think you found the one, make sure at first. If he/she is the one, hold on tight and never ever let go because that decision will haunt you for the rest of your life. Love and cherish the one that is with you and they shall do the same and everything will be like gold and there won’t be any “extreme behaviors” and nothing bad to worry about. Just my 2 cents, enjoy the album.

Rating: 4.5/5