AMG Review of Take It to the Limit

Stephen Thomas Erlewine
All Music Guide

Like their former tourmates and eternal soulmates Buckcherry, Hinder work real hard to have a real good time. This is especially true on Take It to the Limit, a sequel to their 2005 debut, Extreme Behavior, where they take their surprise success as vindication for bad behavior. Hinder show a great love for Guns N' Roses, recycling the escalating chromatic riff from "Sweet Child O' Mine" on the album-opening pair of "Use Me" and "Loaded and Alone," which also finds lead singer Austin Winkler adopting an Axl Rose growl, which is a welcome departure from his node-busting scream. Not that Hinder is quite stuck in the past: their great innovation is marrying this raunch to Goo Goo Dolls power ballads. However, like anybody too beholden to their idols, they often tread familiar ground too carefully.