HACAVITZ 
Venganza
(Moribundcult Cult)
52:27 min

Moribund Cult really have a good eye on the oldschool underground of Black- and Death Metal! After Finlands grim SARGEIST they have a new traditional release, this time from Mexico, this time Death Metal. HACAVITZ (ex - RAVAGER / Osmose) come with a furious debut which will find its listeners within the scene! Technically absolutely convincing (the drummer is a devil!), soundwise clear and powerful with a slight touch of that unique South American flair. Musically they have fallen to their knees before MORBID ANGEL's altar (especially the soli) and sniffed a dose of DIABOLIC and KRISIUN, making the vocals sounding evil and dark, as sung with a SADISTIC INTENT. Dark, fast and charming Death Metal from the elder days! Unfortunately they put more sound-collages and intros on the album than necessary: sometimes they tried mixing dark sound with traditional Mexican music. Could have been interesting but the effect annoys me more than it creates a cool atmosphere. Nothing against cool interludes but HACAVITZ schould concentrate more on writing Death Metal songs for in that they are way better! And please next time get a better cover designer! This one looks like an example taken from a carpet dealer showing summer's New Age collection, created by blind and handless monks. No, no, no... But the music kicks nonetheless! www.hacavitz.com, www.moribundcult.com

Tim Klöcker

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HACAVITZ
Katun
(Moribund Records)
51:44min

Emerging from the very depths of Mexico, being reduced to a two-man band after their debut “Venganza” released in 2005 HACAVITZ are once again back to transfer the spirit of the late eighties / early nineties to the next millenium. Anyone who is searching for new ideas, modern elements or whatever within the Death / Black Metal genre might switch over to another review, but all who still love the harsh, rough sound delivered back in those days should take a listen. As the bands states on their homepage “the lines between Death and Black Metal run thick yet thin”, everyone who is interested in categorizing band into different styles, should do this work on his / her own, because I am not going to discuss such a topic. “Katun” features simple, yet aggressive and dark, gloomy riffing, reminding of early MORBID ANGEL tunes and the vocals seem to be right out of the grave. The drummer is quite excellent, he can match up with other high-class Metal drummer, but at every time the drums are serving the music, no affectation like MAYHEM, where the drums are just to dominant (although Hellhammer is really a Hellhammer, but the drums are just to much in the foreground, destroying al lot of atmosphere). Concerning the sound - well, if you are only used to listen to nowadays high-end productions your ears might bleed, but all others who know such sounds and liked it back in the ancient past will definitely pleased with an superb oldschool Death / Black Metal album like “Katun”. http://cehacavitz.com

Mirco Szymyslik

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HACRIDE
Deviant Current Signals
(Listenable Records)
39:24min

Listenable comes up with two new releases from their homecountry France. One of them being the 2001 founded Thrash-Hardcore bastards from HACRIDE with their debut CD. Very aggressive and technical Thrash Metal mixed with a modern Hard- / Metalcore touch is what you get here. The vocals sound pretty much like PRO-PAIN or that dude from the first THE HAUNTED album, which is cool when you hear it for one or two songs but not for an entire album. Then it really gets boring and un-aggressive… Everything is well played but totally lacks an individual touch - each song just drives from one ear out of the other and leaves a big “What did you say?” behind. Very technial stakkato-riffings with MESHUGGAHish a-rhythmic explosions basically in up-tempo characterize almost all of the 8 songs. It is not really bad – some parts even would let you freak out when they had been played by your favourite band or FEAR FACTORY - but here they just keep on flowing into dimensions near your subconscious. HACRIDE really are on top of their creativity when they get to their DEATH-like ("Human" / "Individual..." period) dreamy instrumental parts as in the songs 'This Place' or 'Protect'. They should have put more of that stuff on this CD… and get the singer to vary his vocal style from time to time! So after all it’s a la-la album which really isn't bad but does not touch me either. Check it out when you like stuff like that. It might as well kick your ass. Who knows. www.hacride.com, www.listenable.net

Tim Klöcker

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HADES
DamNation
(Metal Blade Records)
43:46min

Long before Norway's HADES (HADES ALMIGHTY nowadays) entered the scene, this New Jersey based five piece had already delivered two all-time classics by the name of "Resisting Success" and "If At First You Don't Succeed" in the mid eighties. Unfortunately they split up after that, singer Alan Tecchio joined WATCH TOWER and later on ended up in NON FICTION along with former HADES guitarist Dan Lorenzo. NON FICTION musically never ever managed to impress me in any way, same goes for all of the HADES releases that came out after they decided to reform. Except for a handful of good songs, the majority of the compositions still had this rather annoying NON FICTION overtone in it and was far away from the technical and extremely unique Thrash they originally got known and worshipped for. But with "DamNation" they FINALLY released an album that could've been the worthy follow-up to "If At First You Don't Succeed". Alan is finally screaming his lungs out again in his charismatic and unmistakable manner and there's several very intense and pretty fast (speak old SLAYER-esque!!) Thrash songs on here, which I hadn't expected from them anymore at all! Brilliant! Ok, not all of the twelve tracks are of this quality (a couple – mainly the slower one, are still kind of average) but the majority is definitely worth to carry the HADES moniker on the album's sleeve again. I just hope they will end up writing more of these killer tunes in the future!

Frank Stöver

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HAEMOPHAGUS
Slaves To The Necromancer
(Ignorant Worm Records)
35:15min

A few days ago I wrote a review about the band UNDEAD CREEP and their first demo. UNDEAD CREEP is more or less a sideproject of David (drums) and Giorgio (guitars) and paying a tribute in a great way to ancient Death Metal from Sweden. Highly recommendable if you ask me. Their main band HAEMOPHAGUS is a totally different type of band than this one as the main focus is an original mix of Death / Grind with influences from REPULSION, AUTOPSY, PUNGENT STENCH (their rockier times) or old NAPALM DEATH. As for most Grind bands “Slaves To The Necromancer” is, though being their first full-length recording, not their first recording but the successor of a demo and a couple of split-releases with such names as AGATHOCLES, DEEP DESIRE, BLOOD RAISED or SICK BONG HEADQUARTER. This Italian 3-piece outfit offers around 35 minutes of rather original Grind music, with a small restriction. If you think of Grindcore as being as fast as possible without any melodies this is not the case for HAEMOPHAGUS. They have fast parts for sure, the wide spectrum of influences they have are also represented in their music. Songs as ‘Sunrise Over Fields Of Dust’ have a huge similarity to AUTOPSY at their “Mental Funeral” days (just check the drumbeat starting at 2:13). Same goes for ‘Dead Eater’ whereas ‘Consecration’ has fantastic vocal-lines close to ACHERON’s ‘Thou Art Lord’ from their wonderful “Rites Of The Black Mass” album back in 1992. ‘Remember To Dismember’ is a homage to REPULSION par excellence and ‘Sniffing The Cremated Rests’ refreshes next to the fantastic title my old love for NAPALM DEATH. ‘Red Diabolical Eyes’ is from the beginning with its shout “Rock And Roll” something for rockin’ PUNGENT STENCH lovers. So what remains is a great album with 14 songs (including the intro ‘La Garrota’), along with several obligatory spoken sequences at the beginning of some songs which every fan of the mentioned bands can blindly buy. Other open-minded Death Metal and Grindcore fans should dare a listen as this is a release above the average. Highly recommended and together with UNDEAD CREEP two of the best releases from Italy for a long time. I’m not aware of the distribution of their label but you can check out their myspace page at www.myspace.com/ignorantwormrecords and the band’s page at www.myspace.com/haemophagus to ask for ordering details.

Thomas Ehrmann

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HAEMORRHAGE
Morgue Sweet Home
(Morbid Records)
36:15min

The noisy Spanyards are back! Shortly after their split CD with DEPRESSION (on Cudgel) they release their new album. Sounding sort of chaotic whenever they start blasting, HAEMORRHAGE are stronger at the slower parts (check out track 13 called 'Dirge For The Sick'). To put it nicely: the band doesn't really belong to the same league of bands like NILE or CRYPTOPSY, but obviously this isn't their aim anyway as they rather focus on old school Death / Grind. I've been thinking about the following word for quite a while and I know it's problematic, but nevertheless 'charming' seems to describe the band appropriately. Somehow they manage to create an atmosphere that reminds me of MORTICIAN, even though they're not that deep. People with a faible for old school sounds should check out HAEMORRHAGE both on CD (or on picture vinyl!) as well as on tour with CRYPTOPSY in Germany soon. I'll be there. http://come.to/haemorrhage

Ramon Claassen

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HAEMORRHAGE / IMPALED
Dementia Rex
(Razorback Records)
36:29min

Fucking cool split CD by the CARCASS-worshippers HAEMORRHAGE (Spain) and IMPALED from the US. "Dementia Rex" is some sort of concept story by Ross Sewage of IMPALED about the king of lunatics and both bands orientate lyrically on his twisted tale. Of course musically the two acts do their own thing. IMPALED come up with four new tunes that continue the quality one knows from "Mondo Medicale" with ease and also did a great cover of REPULSION’s ‘Helga Lost Her Head’. Especially the straight ‘Deranged’ and ‘Bedlam’ are excellent examples of IMPALED’s fabulous musicianship, skilful songwriting and morbid drive. Those surgeons of Death Metal know how to create memorable, technical advanced tunes that mix the lyrical topics and humour of early CARCASS with the musical delicatesses the British gods delivered with "Necroticism" and "Heartwork". Their label (I think it is Necropolis Records / Century Media) should finally manage to get them over the ocean to tour Europe, it’s about fucking time!!! Although HAEMORRHAGE do not have the technical niveau of IMPALED nor the clean sound they convince by being sick, hellish aggressive and a bit more raw than their partners in crime. The Spanish psychopaths put together three new tunes for this split and did a damn good cover of GRAVE’s ‘Deformed’. HAEMORRHAGE’s own stuff kicks ass and if compared with IMPALED contains a few more Grind elements. To sum it up, "Dementia Rex" is one of the best split CD’s I’ve ever heard and I think people who enjoy CARCASS or the participating bands will be extremely satisfied with this high quality release. Visit www.razorbackrecords.com for MP3’s and information on the bands. Since the label has a lot more Gore / Grind / Death highlights to offer, have a look at their other bands, too. You won’t regret it!

Stefan Franke

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HAEMORRHAGE
Apology For Pathology
(Morbid Records)
33:00min

Writing this review took me an awful lot of time. Definitely not the band's fault, though. "Apology For Pathology" has been blocking my stereo for ages but somehow I neither found the time nor the energy to write this review. Hopefully not my apology for HAEMORRHAGE's pathology cause with a little bit of luck they survived up to now without stupid me. After this review they'll rock the fuckin' charts, anyway. That's because the CD simply deserves it. At least if the stupid mainstream crowd were headbangers. Right from the start "Apology..." takes you on a journey with no return giving you no chance to sit still. Even now I'm hopping in my chair as if I were infected with some sort of mad cow disease. Or is it the Grind disease? There is not a single track boring on here! This record blasts, grooves and bleeds blood and sweat. I have to admit there are songs I like even more than the others, though - namely 'Cadaveric Metamorphose' for the dead cool tambourine and the title track for its morbid melody. 'Nuff said: buy or die a most painful death! P.S.: I still don't like hidden tracks... www.haemorrhage.ht.st. You may order it here.

Ramon Claassen

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HAEMORRHAGE
Haematology
(Power It Up Records)
72:11min

It’s time to raise the scalpels for all medicine students and listen to the apprentieceship of the blood diseases which were musically downwritten in 34 tracks. I think it’s not necessary to say that if you’re a big CARCASS fan then you have to dig four pathfollowers namely EXHUMED, GENERAL SURGERY, IMPALED and fuck yeah Madrid’s HAMORRHAGE. Sure there are a lot better and even a lot more worse clones around, but it’s no secret that AVULSED have one big opposition in the fight for the Hispanic extreme Metal throne and HAEMORRHAGE are hard as fuck to be beaten. HAEMORRHAGE really managed to bulid a cult status as an honest extreme Gore/Grind band, which has its roots deeply in the early 90s and layout and visually it’s great to see that their pathology comic figure has become a sort of “Eddie” to the Grindcore scene. Shortly said here you get all 7” EP and split 7” EP tracks that HAEMORRHAGE did since 1995, being one of the first Morbid Records releases back then. The versions are remastered and all in all we talk about 10 EPs, all visualised in the booklet with basic information, split bands and some cool liner notes. It’s like a crusade through their bandhistory, enclosing covers of DEAD INFECTION, CARCASS and GERNERAL SURGERY as well. Sure for collectors there’s nothing stronger than having the original vinyls on the own collector altar, but for all the lazy folks, mainly those who prefer the CD medium this is a cool solution to fullfill your pathological deeds. “Haematology” is done with dedication and I love the drawn comic artworkstyle done by guitarist Luisma himself. HAEMORRHAGE are still a light in this release fullshitten Death / Grind scene and this band has something that a lot of of those so called brutal bands are lacking: an indvidual and recognizable way of sound and songwriting!!! Find more info at www.haemorrhage.grindgore.net or www.power-it-up.de.

Ralf Hauber

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HAEMOTH
Vice, Suffering And Destruction (Underground Terrorism)
(ISO666 Releases)
42:45min

HAEMOTH is a two piece coming from the Greater Paris area dedicated to misanthropic and bleak Black Metal. That said, don’t think they indulge themselves in clichés and rehashed ideas. In fact the band appears very original even if they use the easily recognizable elements typical of the Black Metal genre (thankfully). What separates HAEMOTH from the bulk of their competitors is their ability to craft and perform captivating and very elaborate pieces of music. The most surprising and fresh element to find here is certainly the drums patterns favoured, which could seduce even regular Heavy Metal fans. Indeed drummer Syht plays his instrument with feeling and soul, in a very natural and, dare I say, relaxed (yet powerful) manner. Of course one can hear furious rhythms accelerations from time to time, like a reminder this is an extreme Black Metal release after all, but most of the time this record stays on a crushing mid tempo mode. The overall atmosphere on this disc is darker than black, I used the term misanthropic on purpose in the beginning of this review, because misanthropy and hate are the core of the conceptual universe of HAEMOTH. Macabre arpeggios, eerie sound effects, demented vocals could only give high class Black Metal in the end. The song structures were obviously carefully thought about, you can speak of a real work of art here. The overall sound comes out extremely powerful for this kind of release, with a remarkable clarity and a high dynamic. This is by no means the kind of record you can get instant access in; you will have to take your time discovering every aspects of it, that guarantying its longevity in your record collection. But compared to the over hyped WATAIN, I think HAEMOTH, while evolving in more or less the same musical area, come up with a slightly superior brand of Black Metal. This is a record I recommend without any afterthought, a real surprise coming from my country, and the proof that the French Black Metal scene is healthier than ever and can compete with the Scandinavian one with pride! Brilliant and intelligent stuff by clever artists. Note there is a cover of GORGOROTH to find here as a bonus. Info: www.haemoth.fr.st; www.info-black.com.

Edouard Vergriete

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HAGAL
Sterbender Traum
(self-financed)
42:27min

HAGAL return with their 2nd CD “Sterbender Traum” after four years of silence, and where “Karg”, its predecessor, had its lengths with songs of up to 18 minutes playing-time, this album is a pleasant surprise in every aspect: Starting with the package, the booklet comes as a fat 24-pages-booklet in soft brown shades. The CD is professionally pressed and the raw but clear recordings took place in Kargewelten Studios in Hamburg, so despite the band’s claiming, I cannot call this a demo, this is well-deserved to be called an album – as “Karg" was already in my eyes as well. But the main focus still is certainly the music, and this is the best part of this CD as well. Imagine “Jormundgand” - era HELHEIM mixed with early KAMPFAR and “Kveldssanger” - era ULVER and you’ll probably have a good impression of how HAGAL really sound. Four of the ten songs are very much in the veins of the first two mentioned bands, while two acoustic pieces include clear vocals and choirs like the ULVER album. The four other songs are pure acoustic songs put in-between, short intermezzi so to say. And while the names may weight like a heavy burden on HAGAL’s shoulders, they put them aside quite easily: This is better than anything HELHEIM have come up since “Av Norron Aett”, better than what KAMPFAR have come up with since “Mellom…” and most certainly better than what most German Pagan bands have come up during the last decade, I’d say, with the probable only exception of HELRUNAR’s debut. Everything here fits, the riffing, the drumming, and they have a clear vision of where to use those high-pitched vocals (remember “Jormundgand”?) or strong male clear vocals. And as indicated in my very first sentence, the band also has managed to keep their songs more compact this time  – with the longest only lasting about ten minutes. And if that was not enough, the lyrics of the band are well worth given a read. I do honestly not know a single reason why not to buy this CD if you are at all interested in well-performed Pagan / Viking Metal the old Norse way. www.hagal-blackmetal.de

Nhashi

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HAIL OF BULLETS
Promo 2007
(self-financed)
20:48min

I have to admit that I don't like this whole myspace-trend, in fact I hate it. But the truth is that to some extend, myspace has proved to be a very useful medium since people have the opportunity to listen to some fresh material and receive last-minute updates directly from the bands. In fact, most official band websites have become rather obsolete in content, making even more people turn to myspace. That's more or less why I consider myspace as a "necessary evil" and have also created a rather sloppy (and totally uninteresting) page there. One day I received a "friend request" by a band called HAIL OF BULLETS. When I first read the band's name and saw the rather simple logo, I thought that HAIL OF BULLETS would be some mediocre Death / Thrash Metal band I could live without. But after visiting their page I soon realized how wrong I have been! The first thing I witnessed was the band's vocalist: Martin Van Drunnen (if you don't know who Martin is, then you should stop reading at this very instance and go buy the first two ASPHYX and PESTILENCE albums). The remaining band is consisted of Paul Baayens and Stephan Gebedi on guitars (both in THANATOS), Theo Van Eekelen on bass (HOUWITSER) and Ed Warby (AYREON, STAR ONE, GOREFEST) on drums. So as you can realize, I (like most of you) was really curious to listen to what the guys were up to… The first song that started streaming was 'General Winter'. After a few seconds, when the song crushed in I was fucking blown away! We are talking about total ASPHYX worship all the way… seems like Martin's singing on the self-titled ASPHYX record (even hints from 'Prelude To The Unhonoured Funeral' appear in the slow parts of 'General Winter'). Without any exaggeration this could be one of the best, most solid and diverse real Death Metal songs I heard in ages, it's simply incredible! But don't fool yourselves, HAIL OF BULLETS is not an ASPHYX revivalist or whatever! They surely share a lot with the ASPHYX aesthetics (as well as BOLT THROWER and loads of old Swedish Death Metal acts) but they have a distinct sound and an identity of their own. We are talking about outstanding material here, no cheap fillers, no boring riffs, everything sounds simply great. Dan Swanö is responsible for the production guaranteeing a huge, perfect and "modern" Death Metal sound that brings to surface the real potential of the band. Overall I was more than excited from HAIL OF BULLETS and I decided to buy the promo since the band is offering it for sale for a limited period of time and in limited quantities. The bad things started when I read the blog entry concerning the sale of the promo CD: "The overwhelmingly positive response by fans and critics alike has made us decide to do a one time only, strictly limited run of our soon to be legendary 2007 promo. These will be sold exclusively through EMP Merchandising (Germany and most of Europe) and Large Popmerchandising (Benelux) and will not be available anywhere else". To begin with, I have the outmost respect not only for Martin but for all guys involved in HAIL OF BULLETS but the thing is that characterizations such as "soon to become legendary" are simply lame, no need to further comment on that. The second point is that availability of the promo is only through EMP. When I first read it I couldn't believe my eyes. I mean, this is supposed to be an underground Death Metal release right? Who the fuck reading VOICES or listening to underground Death Metal buys stuff from EMP anyway? In the case of ordering a single promo from a "mega-webstore" like EMP, one has to pay not only 10 Euros for the promo itself but postage costs which would be no less than 5 - 8 Euros depending on where you live. And don't forget, we are talking about a 4-track promo! I mean come on… this is no underground attitude at all. This little promo should have been available for sale through the band or small underground labels for a much cheaper price and since the layout is really simple it should include some additional stuff (perhaps a sticker or poster or something) to increase value for money. I only hope Martin and the guys read this and change their mind cause they did some really killer work in this promo and it's pity to lose attitude-points with such wrong moves. www.myspace.com/hailoffuckenbullets (mp3 versions of the songs can be downloaded here for free - Frank)

Manolis A.

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HAIL OF BULLETS
...Of Frost And War
Metal Blade Records
57:31min

Ladies and gentleman... the bitching an moaning for the good old times where Death Metal reigned the underground world supreme are over and HAIL OF BULLETS are waving their flag of unadulteraded oldschool head-hammering brutality for us mere mortals to bow and bang our skulls mercilessly. Right after the play button is pressed I was fucking hit by the fact that this is the band I've been looking for my whole life. All the ingredients were added to the melting pot with such accuracy as if they were measured by an alchemist instead of a bunch of drunken long haired lads. This slab has everything good Death Metal has been know for ages... slow-mid-fast incursions into the enemy territory leaving nothing but shattered necks due to intense headbanging, heavy as fuck guitar tone, rumbling bass and the vocals... those unforgetable wails... The one and only Mr. Martin Van Drunen which easily might be a mandatory reason to get this album in your collection. Current Death Metal frontmen should take a note of the guy singing here, if you guys cannot match him, go and get a fucking office job! While listening I was staring the stereo hopelessly and still I'm trying to overcome what I've been through. Pure Death Metal in the old tradition but with an enhanced sound that does not take away the overall feeling. Check this out at: www.hailofbullets.com

Mario Cubero

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HAIL OF BULLETS
Warsaw Rising (MCD)
(Metal Blade Records)
28:55min

"Warsaw Rising" is the second release from HAIL OF BULLETS (well, actually it's already the 3rd if you count their promo EP debut - Frank), the Death Metal super-group that contains members of THANATOS, GOREFEST and the mighty ASPHYX. Containing a mix of newly recorded tracks and live tracks, "Warsaw Rising" is as crushing a release as you'd expect from members of the aforementioned bands. Opener, and title track 'Warsaw Rising', sets the tone for the entire EP; sounding like the love child of SLAYER and GRAVE, it grabs the listener by the throat and gives him a good throttling! The part where the solo kicks is excellently worked in and catches the listener's attention every time they hear it. 'Liberators' is a showcase in how to create a sense of dread and despair using guitar melodies and octave chords; the opening always makes me imagine a scene of desolate street reduced to nothing but destruction and waste. Guitarists Paul Baayens and Stephan Gebédi really put on a master class on how to create atmosphere in this song. The rest of the song is filled with crushing, mid tempo riffs before singer Martin van Drunen call of 'BOMBS AWAY!' leads us into a Thrash section that will have heads banging and wind-milling all over the place. 'Destroyer' is the weakest track in my opinion. I tried to like it but I just found the main riff to be too weak to carry the entire song and found my attention always waning while listening to it. Perhaps a bit more double kick behind it would have helped but the song just didn't really do anything for me (maybe because it's a TWISTED SISTER cover and not really a HAIL OF BULLETS song? - Frank). Musically, every member is on top form; Martin Van Drunen's vocals are as powerful and distinctive as always, drummer Ed Warby keeps everything held together with some great, tight playing; particularly on the title track, on which his playing reminded me alot of Dave Lombardo. Guitarists Paul Baayens and Stephan Gebédi have a great tone and the solos are blistering and never over the top or thrown in for the sake of it; the solo in 'Warsaw Rising' is probably the highlight of the track for me. Moving onto the live tracks (recorded at the Party.San Festival - Frank), the first thing that struck me about them was there quality. With most live tracks I have become accustomed to hearing a wall of static sound but here every note is perfectly audible; particularly the drums. Each of the tracks, 'Red Wolves Of Stalin' (which was my favourite of the live tracks), 'Nachthexen' and 'The Crucial Offensive' go down a treat live and the crowd really seem to be enjoying themselves as they are heard roaring their approval throughout. 'Warsaw Rising' is a little on the short side but is sure to please all fans of brutal Death Metal and is a well worth checking out. For more on HAIL OF BULLETS check out www.hailofbullets.com and www.metalblade.de

Norman McCann

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HÄIVE
Saimaata Ei Sanoilla Selita (MCD)
(Northern Silence Productions)
21:09min

A further band from the land of the thousand lakes is not really special, especially when they are heading into the popular Folk / Pagan Metal direction but if the band has composed a MCD with the sole use of the basis instruments ignoring the power of lyrics – guitars, drums plus some traditional instruments like harps etc – it’s more than worth mentioning here. The band HÄIVE was founded in early 2002 and so far they only released a split CD and a full album – also via Northern Silence – but their third release “Saimaata Ei Sanoilla Selita“ is different by trying to capture the breath of Mother Nature. So the musically inspiration could be found in their own country (means their own folklore / traditional music) but also abroad with Metal sources of inspiration in form – as usual – the first true ULVER releases. The format of a MCD is really in favor of the exceptional concept and the three songs are offering enough diversity to bring some metalized folklore light even into the deepest and darkest metal fortress. HÄIVE are offering a really special release / concept but in some way far more interesting than the uncountable Black / Death releases without own spirit. www.northern-silence.de, www.haive.tk

Matthias Auch

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HALLOWS EVE
Evil Offerings (CD Single)
(self-financed)
6:43min

As a longtime fan of their three classic full length albums on Metal Blade Records ("Tales Of Terror", "Death And Insanity" and "Monument") I was really curious to finally check out some new material by reformed Atlanta based Thrashers HALLOWS EVE. First of all let me tell you that it is a big letdown that original vocalist Stacy Anderson is missing in this reincarnation, because his unique voice always used to be a big trademark for the band back in the 80s... So, the nucleus of the new / old line-up nowadays only consists of Tommy Stewart (bass) and Skullator (guitar). They both also share the lead vocal duties, while Brandon Ottinger and Dane Jensen complete the picture on guitars and drums respectively. These four guys already got a lot of bad press after performing at Germany's "Keep It True" festival recently and the reviews I read on this CD single afterwards actually weren't any better as well... All this, in combination with Tommy's statement, that he's "not interested in making the same songs over again..." and that their fifth album would be "even further out" not really fuled the fire of my enthusiasm and therefore my expectations weren't the biggest anymore, to say the least. But I still wanted to remain as fair as possible, not letting myself influence by outside opinions or prejudices. So, after I listened to the two featured tracks over and over again, one thing became pretty obvious to me rather quick already: this is by no means the band I would associate with the name HALLOWS EVE nor with their classic style! Instead of disappointing their loyal fanbase (which they WILL do, and you can quote me on that!), a new name would have been the better solution here. Musically it's actually not as bad as mentioned in most of the previously published reviews, but the guys should definitely reconsider the vocal department (especially Tommy's vocals sound totally out of place here). Therefore I prefer song number two, 'Looking Glass', which features Skullator on lead vocals, who delivers a raw Death Metal performance (or "vulcan vocals" as they prefer to name it), with Tommy just adding some melodic, almost Ozzy–like additional vocals to it. A pretty cool combination and definitely far better than 'Technicolor Roadkill', which somehow reminded me on all those annoying Hardcore / Metal crossover acts that used to be pretty popular in the mid 80s. The sound / production on the two songs is just ok - nothing more, nothing less. For a demo it obviously would've been no big deal, but as this is already material off the upcoming fourth HALLOWS EVE album "Evil Never Dies" a bit more time should've been invested in the recordings of it. Of course it's always difficult to judge a reunion only by two songs, and I really hate to say this, but I fear that this rebirth will go nowhere and probably does more damage to the name HALLOWS EVE then regain the interest. The number of first class bands that are around these days is so much bigger than in the 80s that you at least have to live up to the expectations connected to your musical legacy - otherwise you're lost! For more info check out www.hallowseve.org

Frank Stöver

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HALLOWS EVE
Evil Never Dies
(self-financed)
46:07min

After the release of their rather controversial 2 track CD single "Evil Offerings", reunited Atlanta Thrashers HALLOWS EVE are finally delivering their first full length album in 17 years now! "Evil Never Dies" features both of the single tracks ('Technicolour Roadkill' and 'Looking Glass') in re-recorded (?), stronger sounding versions as well as seven new tunes. Well, seven is not exactly correct here as 'Interlude' is just a short, rather classical sounding piano instrumental, while the album's closer 'The Ballad Of Mortuary Harry' can't be taken serious at all... The remaining five songs will most certainly once again upset several old HALLOWS EVE fans as the shared vocal delivery of bassplayer Tommy Stewart (clean) and guitarist Skullator (deathly) is not necessarily what we're all associating classic HALLOWS EVE with. But if we're excluding the vocals for a second and just focus on the instrumental side of things you're about to discover some really cool stuff on here. The overall drum sound is a little weak in my opinion, but I could still imagine that most of the songs would be praised by current critics of the band if Stacy Anderson would be singing them (didn't I say that we should exclude the vocals? Hmm...). Except for 'Sweetest Tongue, Sharpest Tooth', which I personally didn't get into at all, the other tunes come up with great, traditional sounding thrashy Metal. Especially the album's opener 'Soldier' is a helluva monster of a composition, with a SLAYER-esque opening, exciting structure and excellent leadguitar work. The song also features Tommy's best vocal performance on the entire album (mid range is the keyword!), so maybe there's light at the end of the tunnel?! The intense Death Metal outburst 'Vampires Drink Deep' on the other hand might be familiar to those of you that are reading our zine for a longer period of time already, as LESTREGUS NOSFERATUS (the band that Skullator used to be part of in between) already had recorded / released that on one of their demos. Not necessarily a typical HALLOWS EVE track, but great on its own, nevertheless! So, as you can see, the whole album is definitely about diversity. Some of it works, some if it doesn't! But I suppose the main problem for the guys will always be: the vocals (here we go again...). Not because Tommy and Skullator are doing a bad job, but because their music simply demands a different sounding voice in order to get recognized as the real HALLOWS EVE again. So, the best thing of course would be to convince Stacy to return, but as that is probably not the most realistic option, I would suggest that some other vocalists should be giving the opportunity to try out... I mean, look at a band like AGENT STEEL for instance. When they reformed a couple of years ago WITHOUT John Cyriis nobody ever thought that someone could fill in his shoes... but Bruce Hall did, and even more than that! He was able to deliver the old stuff with class as well as adding his own unique trademark to the new songs. That's the way it should be if you try to continue on with a band that became part of the Metal history already and that people worship because of their past glories! And HALLOWS EVE can do that as well as the material on this album prooves... For ordering info check out www.hallowseve.org

Frank Stöver

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HALLOWS EVE
The Neverending Sleep
(Hallows Eve Media)
50:26min

Let's face the facts: "Evil Never Dies", the album, that was supposed to be HALLOWS EVE's comeback release, by no means lived up to the expectations of their loyal fanbase (and probably didn't gain them too many new followers either). The critics weren't the best and (from what I've read) this line-up also didn't really manage to impress in a live situation... So, there were only two options for the band: to split-up again or to take the criticism to heart, reunite with original singer Stacy Anderson and give it another try. Luckily founding member and bassplayer Tommy Stewart went for option number two and not only got Stacy back on board, it seems he also replaced the entire "Evil Never Dies" line-up with fresh blood as well. So, what we got here now obviously HAS to be pretty different from "Evil Never Dies". But is it really worth to be checked out by old HALLOWS EVE fans? Even though I'm still not entirely convinced by "The Neverending Sleep", I still would say: yes, it is! There's a bunch of songs on this record that turned out really killer and that finally deliver the old HALLOWS EVE vibe again. Tracks like 'Night Of The Neverending Sleep', 'Dominion Resurrected' or 'The Sun Must Die' include all the necessary trademarks of classic HALLOWS EVE and are musically rooted somewhere in-between their "Tales Of Terror" and "Death And Insanity" albums. Overall mostly as raw as 'Plunging To Megadeath', yet blessed with the necessary hooks and vocal melodies in the chorus section that the band got so famous for back in the 80s. 'Army Of One' is another great one, pretty much in the midpaced 'D.I.E.' vein, yet with a very intense chorus. 'Doors Of Misery' and the very heavy sounding, over 7 minutes long 'Dance Of The Dead' (don't like the chorus here though) deserve a positive mention here as well, while the remaining stuff on the record unfortunately is pretty much lacking in this quality. More fillers than killers so to speak. The worst of all to me being '72 Virgins', which is really annoying to listen to... Anyway, the coverart (as well as the raw oldschool production) is simply great and easily makes you forget about the unprofessional packing of "Evil Never Dies", so give these guys another chance. It's pretty obvious that they have learned their lesson, so they truely deserve it! Sound samples of some of the new songs can be found at www.myspace.com/hallowsevemusic, the album can be ordered from www.hallowsevemusic.com.

Frank Stöver

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HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE
The Bastard
(Tumult Records)
46:17min

Mike Scalzi's (THE LORD WEIRD SLOUGH FEG) side project offers quite a bit of Black Metal moments and kind of pagan / medieval sounds combined with the weird "celtic" Power Metal approach of his main band, so I think it fits in here fine and although "The Bastard" is mainly Power Metal, the typical HAMMERFALL fan will probably hate this one, so I'm counting on open-minded extremists like you... Previously named UNHOLY CADAVER, HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE recorded a highly original album over a couple of years on an 8 tracker (good sound, though). It's a concept album about mythology, ancient magic and bloody times, actually it's even a Metal opera in 3 acts. The singers (female, male (Scalzi) and Black Metal Screams) represent the different characters on here and if you think you might like (unusual) Power Metal with more extreme and acoustic parts (sometimes a bit like BATHORY): don't hesitate! This one is definitely one of the most fascinating records I've heard for quite a while! Mind-blowing! P. S.: no cheap keyboards on here! http://www.hammersofmisfortune.com

Ramon Claassen

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HARMONY
Summoning The Past
(Konqueror Records)
26:00min

I’m glad you are reading this review as I was not sure if anyone will check it out because of the name of the band. HARMONY is or better was a shitty name for a Death Metal band and I guess that’s one of the reasons why the guys changed their name to MAZE OF TORMENT after three years of existence (92-95). HARMONY were pre-MAZE OF TORMENT and since their start they were a quite impressive band. Konqueror Records from Singapore did well in releasing these previously never official released songs on CD. By the way, keep your eyes open on this great label as they already released the amazing “Beyond The Circle” CD from EXCRUCIATE, “Purifying Consecrated Ground” MCD from DEAD CONGREGATION among others. They are doing a fantastic job and this release fits in this category of great releases, too. The 6 songs on this recording were all recorded between April and October 1994 in either Unisound Studio or Underground Studio and I can tell you that the soundquality is pretty good, which is not usual for releases like that. Well, where MAZE OF TORMENT play some kind of furious Thrash Metal and already released 4 albums (hope I’m correct here) this predecessor sticks more to the melodic Death Metal in the good old tradition. I can only suggest that all fans of MAZE OF TORMENT buy this release to see how this band started and especially for the die-hard underground fans this is a must have as the amount of great demos to become released on CD is still too small!!! Support releases like this and show the label that their effort is worth your money! Check out www.myspace.com/konquerorrecords to see what the label has to offer and send a mail to the label at info@konqueror-records.com for ordering details and their back-catalogue.

Thomas Ehrmann

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HARMONY CELL
Debut EP
(self financed)
16:54min

Well, it might sound cruel to the members of HARMONY CELL, but some bands had better never seen the light of day, because they are just too awful. But I’ll try my best to give at least an objective description of their style. Hardcore-inspired emotional vocals throne upon weird Metal / Thrash / Noise riffs, mellow acoustic guitar parts and the hissing sound of a drumming machine – so far, so bad. In my opinion this musical mixture is condemned to be shunned, the vocals are totally boring, the riffs suck big time and the clinical drum sound almost fits to the overall horrible impression HARMONY CELL managed to create. I never thought after reviewing the even worse HATRED DIVINE there would come another comparable musical martyrium. I listened to this CD three times and I could do nothing but shake my head, there are so many talented bands out there that are unsigned, undiscovered but definitely a million times better than HARMONY CELL, your "Debut EP" is nothing but an annoyance! Maybe you should start painting or sculpturing, you guys were not born to make music. Visit www.harmonycell.net and laugh at an MP3 file of their "music"...

Stefan Franke

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HARMONY DIES
I'll Be Your Master
(Ars Metalli)
27:59min

Leif Jensen

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HARMONY DIES
Impact
(Morbid Records)
34:55min

HARMONY DIES now with Morbid Records, eh? Compared with their new label mates PROSTITUTE DISFIGUREMENT, HARMONY DIES have a weaker production – but it’s still okay.  “Narcotic” starts out with a funny “Power Metal” scream – yeah, these guys are best known for their more or less funny sides. I’m not their biggest fan as their songs never seem to stick in my mind. The same with “Impact”: I don’t know how many times I have listened to this album already and still I don’t remember much except for the samples. This does not mean the band is bad or something – “Impact” is good stuff for Death Metal fanatics who need a good portion of old school attitude and some cool leads. Still, as I’m not into Death Metal exclusively I wouldn’t necessarily buy this album. Too many good releases around at the moment. Check them out live and decide for yourself. www.harmony-dies.de

Ramon Claassen

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HARM'S WAY
Harm's Way 10"
(Iron Fist Productions)

Though this Swedish band plays a style rather seldomly featured on the Voices website - namely heavy Doom / Stoner - HARM'S WAY (formerly known as TERRA FIRMA) are too good to be shunned just because of the typical oldschool intolerance. From the psychedelic, predominantely red-coloured cover art to the powerful, warm sound the quartet has everything good Doom / Stoner needs and keeping in mind that the three songs featured here are only the band's debut demo recorded in 2004 this release is even more remarkable. Of course, the experience collected during almost an decade under the moniker TERRA FIRMA, who released numerous demos and two full-lengths, is responsible for that, these guys simply aren't newcomers anymore! Bands like KYUSS, DOZER, SPIRITUAL BEGGARS come into mind when I listen to this MLP, but also classic Metal traditions surface during the MAIDEN - like twin guitar passage in 'Went Wrong' or the up-tempo part of 'High Becomes Low'. Vocalist Dim has an enjoyable, variable, clean voice and performs with a lot of feeling and supports the groove and mood created by the music. The MLP is certainly not the reinvention of the genre but it's well done, excellently produced and exercised with talent and skill, so if you're into Doomrock, Stoner, don't miss this nice little vinyl! The label's website can be found here: http://zwartroest.nl/ironfist/  or http://www.ironfistrec.cjb.net/. The band can be contacted via the following email address: fastfreddie@chello.se

Stefan Franke

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HATE
Holy Dead Trinity
(World War III Records)
39:21min

This Death Metal band is from Poland and their debut album "Holy Dead Trinity" is already on quite a high level. The record company's info sheet says that fans of DEICIDE, VADER and MORBID ANGEL will worship this band and especially the weird solos remind me a bit of MORBID ANGEL indeed. Not quite on the same high level, though, but who would honestly expect that from a band in an early stage like this? What you get is a fairly well produced satanic Death Metal album mainly focussing on brutal in-your-face attitude. With these 14 rather short songs HATE show quite a lot of talent and especially the song "Convocation" proves that these guys are no cheap copies of their heroes. And whenever a monotonous riff starts getting on my nerves, there is a cool break soon to follow! Both these breaks and the strange solos make this band differ from most of their competitors, so consequently there is a bit more for you to discover than just another ordinary Death Metal band. A really good one. Give these guys a chance!

Ramon Claassen

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HATE
Cain’s Way
(Koch Poland)
35:36min

Until now, HATE are certainly Poland’s best kept secret, because of a lack of proper distribution outside their homeland. The proof is that I had to wait at least six months to finally get this album, which will be distributed in the western hemisphere only on July 23, through World War III Records for the USA and Candlelight Records for Europe, with a new cover artwork. Well, I am discussing the Polish version here, enhanced with a well done multimedia section, that is a 12 minutes video segment and some band pictures, plus biographic info (in the Polish language…) I don’t know if these additions will be featured in the forthcoming versions of “Cain’s Way”, just wait and see. Those who know HATE already thanks to the compilation album “Holy Dead Trinity” issued last year by World War III (and reviewed by Ramon in these very pages) will not be surprised at all by this new offering. HATE have kept the same winning formula that makes their music far more than simply enjoyable. I read a lot about DEICIDE influences regarding HATE’s music, and I agree with that, especially if I think about albums like “Serpent Of  The Light” or “Once Upon  A Cross”. Add to this some MALEVOLENT CREATION (“The Ten Commandments”) overtones here and there and you will get a rather precise idea of what is going on throughout “Cain’s Way”, that is said without reducing HATE to the status of mere copyists, because obviously they have their own style. HATE could claim almost the same longevity as VADER really, being formed around 1990, and they could rival their fellow countrymen without any problem. The music on offer on “Cain’s Way” is classic Death Metal, catchy and to the point, with enough hooks to keep the listener’s attention. The album flows like in a dream, and each of the ten songs (I don’t count the outro) sound equally good. There is not too much to say about an album of such a great quality, I can only recommend it strongly to you. The HATE maniacs are currently recording their forthcoming album, so 2002 could be the year of their breakthrough after all. And I think it’s about time really… Don’t forget to visit HATE at: http://www.hatesatanic.org to get a lot of insights about their past, present and future plans, and especially about their rather complex discography.

Edouard Vergriete

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HATE
Awakening Of The Liar
(Listenable Records)
31:39min

This is the fourth HATE album so far, and I think we can say that this Polish act grows better and better with the time! I knew their two first albums "Lord Is Avenger" and "Victims" re-released under the name "Holy Dead Trinity" on Blackend Records, but even if the HATE trademark is still here, I can warrant you that this "Awakening Of The Liar" is a hell of a blast in your face, due to the even more killer production and the quality of the song writing. Apparently it was not a handicap for the band to start again with a new second guitarist and a new drummer. I find that HATE is crushing even more than before, and has slowly matured to give us an album which has its own way of sounding. Still one can hear some obvious influences of bands like MORBID ANGEL, VADER or DEICIDE (especially for the vocals), but all in all it remains light and don't gives you the bad feeling to have already heard the HATE riffs before. If you are a Polish Death Metal fan, I can strongly recommand you to give a listen to this album, because it is strong, has a lot of variations, delivers intense riffing, and is simply timeless. No wonder that if you are into real Death Metal, the brutal way, you might enjoy it quite fully! And I think that the band manages to finally get the recognition it deserves since its funding in 1990, while signing with Listenable Records for Europe and WW3 Records for the US market. Contact: www.listenable.net

Nathaniel Colas

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HATE
Anaclasis – A Haunting Gospel Of Malice & Hatred
(Listenable Records)
36:00min

Formed in 1990 Polish HATE for a long time stood in the shadow of the national Metal scene leaders VADER and lately highly successful BEHEMOTH. To be honest, I perceived HATE always as nothing more than a good alternative to VADER because their MORBID ANGEL inspired fast, dark and straight-forward brand of Death Metal had some obvious parallels to the figurehead of Polish extreme Metal. With its newest, fifth official full-length album HATE now are in the starting blocks to set themselves apart from the two mentioned Polish Death Metal acts, focussing on triumphant, massive hymns that dare to deviate from the concept of simple, driving VADER-like Death Metal. Skilfully using some well-dosed industrial elements, effects and samples to support the overall sinister and captivating atmosphere HATE’s newest gospel has more grandeur, more impact and feeling than their previous ones and also than the last two records of their musically closest rival. The album has no weak songs, an excellent production, enough tempo-variation, catchy passages as well as more twisted ones, crushing heaviness as well as dark, haunting melodies. “Anaclasis” is an impressive release that should satisfy fans of brutal yet atmospheric, occult and fresh sounding Death Metal. Just try out my personal highlights the fast and merciless ‘Euphoria Of The New Breed’, the mid-tempo dominated title-track and the almost seven minutes long closing inferno ‘Fountains Of Blood To Reach Heavens’. Check this out! www.listenable.net or www.hatesatanic.org should have all required additional information and soundfiles. The CD can be ordered here.

Stefan Franke

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HATE
Morphosis
(Listenable Records)
38:52min

From the outskirts of Warsaw, Poland hail another version of BEHEMOTH! However not nearly as proficient, blindingly fast nor as internationally acclaimed, called HATE. And even though this band has been around since 1990 you can and would not even know this had I not mentioned it, as the musicianship doesn’t warrant an accolade as this, and too as no utterance or influence from that era of Death and Grindcore can be heard here. HATE could have formed in 2006 and you’d never know the difference. Put atop that remark the now almost standard of Polish Death Metal with an over polished recording again akin to BEHEMOTH. Coupled with what appears to be the heinous use of drum triggers, and the ever popular under mic’d vocals and before the headman’s chopping block today are eight tracks of BEHEMOTH cast-off material fused with only a marginal amount of HATE’s own avidity. Why this band exists, is anyone’s guess?! Why they are signed, is another question that I would like to pose to Laurent of Listenable. He could do better, and has signed and worked with better acts in the past. C’mon Laurent… Raise your standards! Contact: www.hatesatanic.org or www.myspace.com/hatepoland or www.listenable.net

Wes Rhodes

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HATE 
The Litanies Of Satan
(Metal Mind Productions)
53:25min

As live albums go, this is a masterpiece. Normally, we gloss over live recordings unless they belong to a cult band who didn't have much material to begin with. Only "Unleashed In The East", by JUDAS PRIEST, sold as well as the studio recordings. It's with good reason that live albums are often ignored: poor sound, sloppy playing, etc. Not so with HATE. These madmen play with nuance and grace - all the things many good studio bands wished they could be on the stage. If you didn't know any better, you might think "The Litanies Of Satan" was itself a studio album. Yes. It's that good-sounding. Unfortunately, HATE is as to a live album, as popular studio recordings are to VADER. Put simply, the band is overlooked, despite the fact that they've got more interesting material than their countrymen at the moment. Not to diminish VADER in the least, but you simply cannot compete with material this competent, and this well recorded on stage. Buy this and give HATE some recognition for once. www.myspace.com/hatepoland, www.hatesatanic.org. On sale here.

Nat Shapiro

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HATE ETERNAL
King Of All Kings
(Earache Records)
33:48min

All those of you who were a little worried and expected HATE ETERNAL to slow down on the follow-up to their highly acclaimed debut "Conquering The Throne" can relax again. Erik Rutan and the boys have by no means become slaves to the mainstream - they're actually almost more uncompromising and deadly than ever before! "King Of All Kings" is another highspeed Death Metal inferno that mixes the brutal furiosity of KRISIUN with the technical brilliance of MORBID ANGEL and will prove all those critics ad absurdum who considered HATE ETERNAL just a superfluous side project with no real substance in the long run. That these guys are far more than just that became quite clear pretty quickly. With the release of their debut back in 1999 they immediately set new standards within the Death Metal genre, not only resulting in the change of label (from the Earache sub-division Wicked World to Earache directly) for this new offering, but also in the fact that all of a sudden countless soundalikes were popping up everywhere. But most of them were simply lacking the technical abilities of Erik Rutan, Jared Anderson and Derek Roddy. HATE ETERNAL is brutal Death Metal in perfection and "King Of All Kings" has become another prove of that! The intensity of "King Of All Kings" is simply amazing and considering the extreme speed on the whole record, the overall tightness of the band just unbelievable! There's no real standout track as all nine new tracks (plus intro) are of equal top notch quality (same goes for Rutan's once again totally conving production)... So, my only complain is addressed to the choice of the album's cover, which despite it's obvious artwork qualities, reminds me way too much on the album sleeves by Sweden's "Metal" wimps HAMMERFALL...  Apart from that - an incredible follow-up!

Frank Stöver

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HATE ETERNAL
I, Monarch
(Earache Records)
42:34min

I could easily copy most parts of my review on HATE ETERNAL's previous full length "King Of All Kings" and re-use it here, with only very little differences... The band's line-up has changed a bit ever since (Randy Piro replaced Jared Anderson on bass) and the new coverart, even if it may not have those HAMMERFALL similarities this time, pretty much sucks nevertheless (if not more). Apart from that this is another love it or hate it release. Fans of brutal highspeed Death Metal in technical perfection will most certainly also worship "I, Monarch" to the max, while others will probably consider this devastating musical inferno as monotonous and boring. In my case it always depends on the mood I am in... Sometimes I can't stand this cacophony at all (same with KRISIUN by the way) and sometimes my masochistic inner self wants to get run over by this musical bulldozer pretty badly. But no matter which opinion you're sharing, after having already composed two first class albums of this kind previously to "I, Monarch" it's definitely time for the band to re-consider their writing formular quite a bit, as it's getting more and more difficult to seperate one song from another (despite their individulal qualities). I mean, diversity is the keyword here and that's what turned several releases by other extreme acts such as SLAYER or MORBID ANGEL into alltime classics! And with all respect to HATE ETERNAL's musical skills, to me they're still focusing too much on the blasting aspects and therefore often tend to get boring in the long run. A problem they are sharing with a lot of the bands that are currently around. Even the most extreme song needs a little bit of catchiness (a crushing riff, a memorable chorus or whatever) in order to survive... Apart from that, read the "King Of Kings" review. www.hateeternal.com

Frank Stöver

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HATE FOREST
The Most Ancient Ones
(Supernal Music)
45:18min

Imagine the following: you are standing on the stony coast of the sea as suddenly a monstrous wave of foul water is clutching at you. You are grabbing the the rock but the wave is returning again and again and again. While it is rolling remorselessly over you it releases foul bubbles of most hateful and dark voices. With this short description I tried to give you a little idea what Ukrainian HATE FOREST are about. The effect they create with their style of Black Metal is comparable to the one BOLT THROWER do with their Death Metal war machine. It is a kind of monstous, merciless and bulldozing grinder. With their compositions they close a gap in the Black Metal landscape and deliver at the same time their very own interpretation of the nordic style. The overall character of their songs is hymnic, yet mostly established in the midtempo range with some outbreaks into higher regions. Very original are the vocals which are somewhere in between Death and Black metal. I have not yet heard any other vocals I could directly compare with. The vocals used by HATE FOREST are dark and deep and because of that compareable to Death Metal vocals. But they are not grunted and far more aggressive than the usual Death Metal vocals. So possibly they could be described as an aggressive Black Metal version of the dark American Death Metal singing used by e.g. IMMOLATION or INCANTATION. Furtheron a shriekier type of Black Metal vocals join the abyssic ones every now and then. To come to the sound production: HATE FOREST have wraped up their compotitions in a frosty and shredding Black Metal sound that perfectly supports the bulldozing character of the songs. True, during the first listenings it is a little bit difficult to understand what the guitar section wants to express. But the more you listen to this album the more it reveals its charm and depths. It grows so to speak with every new listen. A short focus on the booklet: a black cover with just the monicker and the album title awaits you on the first sight. In the inner sleeve you won't find any lyrics. Instead every song is visualized gy breat looking and moody black and white photographs of forests and parts of it. But unfortunately there is one thing I do not want to conceal: on the first inner page you find the sentence "Aryan True Black Metal". On one hand this is in my opinion rather annoying. On the other hand, considering the fact that HATE FOREST are from Ukrania, it is rather ridiculous. As there is no other political hint or background apparent it is up to you if you ignore the sentence or just see it as provocation. Anyway, this is the only little thing I have to carp at. So apart from that a really outstanding and fresh release.

Thomas Georg

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HATEFUL AGONY
Obey
(self-financed)
38:46min

The vision that HATEFUL AGONY offer on their fourth album is quite clear and simple: fast and aggressive Thrash Metal. After the first listening to “Obey” one main influence is most evident, namely early KREATOR. Especially the vocalist sounds like Mille himself, the same pressed, aggressive shouting like on “Extreme Aggression“ or “Coma Of Souls“. Musically also names like EXODUS, SLAYER or NUCLEAR ASSAULT may give you a hint what HATEFUL AGONY sound like. But the Munich Thrashers are not just a lame copy of the mentioned bands, their song-writing skills are good enough to represent them as an independent band. What makes this album so enjoyable is the enthusiasm the musicians put into the band. This freshness mixed with their technical skills makes “Obey” an excellent Thrash Metal attack. So do not hesitate to get your copy for just 10€ (incl. p&p) from Thomas Hörbe, Gelfratstr.9, 80634 Munich, Germany or visit www.hatefulagony.de

Mirco Szymyslik

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HATEPULSE
In Extenso Letalis (MCD)
(Rage Of Achilles)
22:52min

When I received this MCD recently I first of all expected it to be a(nother) brutal Death Metal release, because of the band's name and the way their logo and coverart looks like. But as soon as opened this little fucker and came across the two corpsepaint wearing dudes on the backside of the CDs booklet, it was perfectly clear to me that my first impression was completely wrong. "Extreme Hate Metal" is printed in there as well and indeed, this sums up the five very raw, yet partly quite atmospheric tunes pretty well. HATEPULSE is a sideproject of E.Kulde, vocalist of WORLD DESTROYER, who once again joined forces here with his partner in crime Vrangsinn (guitars) of CARPARTHIAN FOREST (and also member of WORLD DESTROYER). So this is basically 2/3 of WORLD DESTROYER, simply excluding Nattefrost (who of course is mainly the leading force in CARPARTHIAN FOREST). "In Extenso Letalis" was originally "just" a demo, but Rage Of Achilles luckily noticed the big potential of the songs and the overall high quality of the recordings and (re-)released it on MCD. Good idea, cause even though HATEPULSE won't reinvent the wheel with their grimly performed, harsh Black Metal outbursts, it's still very cool and convincing songs for all those of you who prefer their Black Metal to be as basic as possible. In other words, if you enjoy northern acts such as GORGOROTH, CARPATHIAN FOREST, 1349 and the likes you gotta make sure to pick this up also. Not even the use of a drumcomputer (which they named "The Pulse"), nor the additionally incorporared keyboards in the background are turning this into a cheesy mainstream, gothic poisened release. This is raw as fuck, the keyboards are only used to add an eerie atmosphere to certain parts of the songs and the programmed drumming never sounds synthetic at all (well, ok in 'Dødsferd' it's recognizable quite a bit, but what the fuck...). On one hand I don't see the need to come up with a side project for this (most parts of these tunes could easily have been used in CARPARTHIAN FOREST as well), but then again... as long as there's material of this superior quality - why not? All further info you may find here http://hatepulse.da.ru/ or here www.rageofachilles.com

Frank Stöver

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HATESPAWN
Ascent From The Kingdom Below (Demo 2007) 
(self-financed)
22:31min

A fantastic surprise to say the least! It was by sheer chance that I "discovered" the existence of HATESPAWN after reading about their "plans" to prepare a split release with my countrymen DEAD CONGREGATION. Needless to say that I was curious to find out more since I already started having some reasonable expectations knowing Anastasis' taste in good old Death Metal. HATESPAWN are consisting of two ex-IMPENDING DOOM members: Andreas Kaufmann (A. Deathmonger) and Patrick W. Engel (Angel of Disease). They have managed to release a split 7inch with SIGNUM DIABOLIS (Engel's one man band) in 2005 and two years after, they released the demo tape "Ascent From The Kingdom Below". To be honest, I haven't been exposed to the material of IMPENDING DOOM before, so I cannot – obviously - make any comparisons between the two bands, but anyways, the fact remains that HATESPAWN's material managed to blow me away! Starting with the "exterior" / aesthetics part of the demo tape, I think that both the sinister Chris Moyen artwork plus the nice logo of the band prepare the listener for the atrocious content of the demo. To put it nice and short: HATESPAWN perform dark oldschool Death Metal with fucking guts and killer attitude that gives the impression that this band belongs to a different decade or something. I wouldn't start comparing them with other bands, because that's something they don't deserve. It's obvious that HATESPAWN have properly absorbed the tradition of the ancient masters and have managed to filter all those great elements that made past releases so damn special. It's also obvious that they have been influenced by bands such as ACHERON (they even deliver a 'Prayers Of Hell' cover), AUTOPSY, old MORBID ANGEL, NECROVORE and their likes, but without copying them or sounding like them. Contrary to that they successfully use that influence as a source of inspiration to deliver pure Death Metal with the same sinister vibe and grotesque spirit as these bands once managed to achieve. What really got me into this band, is that they have realized that what's mostly important in a serious Death Metal release is to have damn effective guitar riffs and HATESPAWN did some really good work in that department (contrary to 99% of the stuff that gets released nowadays). I guess that's a release that people seriously into good oldschool Death Metal wouldn't want to miss, a true underground gem, that brings memories of older times. I only hope that this material gets released in LP format. Contact: www.myspace.com/hatespawnofficial

Manolis A.

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HATESPHERE
Hatesphere
(Scarlet Records)
41:03min

This Danish bunch originally started out as NECROSIS back in 1992 and recorded three demos before they decided to change their name into HATESPHERE in 1998. According to their info sheet they were already receiving an incredible response after the release of their second demo, which even resulted  in several contract offers. But the guys turned them all down until they considered themselves musically mature enough (verrrrry good attitude!), which finally seemed to be the case when Italy’s Scarlet Records approached them. HATESPHERE signed with them and the result is their highly energetic and incredibly intense self titled nine song debut full length. And there’s very little to complain about – the musicianship is over the top, the production from ex-INVOCATOR man Jacob Hansen totally crushing and the cover art by Chad Michael Ward (who should be known for his work on releases by NAGLFAR, DARKANE, SOILWORK, CREST OF DARKNESS etc.) absolutely professional. HATESPHERE basically could be considered as Denmark’s answer to the new wave of Swedish Death Metal (THE HAUNTED, CARNAL FORGE, THE FORSAKEN etc.), which means they deliver really aggressive, powerful and straight forward Metal with melodic leads and hateful vocals. I couldn’t really locate the mentioned 80’s Bay Area Thrash  Metal elements in their songwriting, but some fine SLAYER-esque riffing here and there instead. The  biggest problem with these guys (as with all the other acts of this movement) is their lack of own identity.  If I would get played a compilation album of fifteen bands of this musical genre, I certainly would be having  a tough time to separate them from each other. Apart from that. A cool album. 

Frank Stöver

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HATESPHERE
Bloodred Hatred
(Scarlet Records)
31:56min

It seems that a modernized form of Thrash has dethroned Death Metal for good in Sweden. The bands playing this kind of music are now countless, and among them HATESPHERE. Well, I can’t say I am very impressed by this release (their second to date) simply because I am not a fan of Neo-Thrash in the first place, even if I can admit that the album is interesting. The main problem is that the compositions are simply not there, impossible to distinguish one song from another. “Bloodred Hatred” (a pretty banal title if you ask me) is simply a collections of good riffs and nothing else I am afraid. It is not to say that some songs don’t have their moments, the second half of the album comes out actually better than the first, especially tracks like ‘Plague’, ‘Deeper And Deeper’ and ‘Kicking Ahead’. Obviously this five piece has a concern in crafting quality music, but while hearing this album, you know for sure you are not listening to a classic by any means. The HATESPHERE musicians are very skilled indeed, the whole band playing tight like a well-oiled machine, enough to provide solace for a moment, but that ‘s all. To me the future of Thrash has to be found on such masterpieces as DEW-SCENTED “Inwards” or the last NO RETURN offering and certainly not here. The sound quality on offer  cannot be blamed as  the production courtesy of Tommy Hansen appears faultless as usual. And some good ideas, like a nice use of various keyboards (from Hammond organ to modern synth), can be detected on some of the tracks. Well, maybe I don’t do justice to this album after all, but I repeat myself, to me the composing skills are a top priority to review a musical work and I don’t find them too much on display here. The problem is that more and more bands deliver this kind of music now (CARNAL FORGE, TERROR 2000, DARKANE, THE CROWN, ARCH ENEMY and many, many others) and this scene begins to saturate itself pretty quick, even if I reckon that HATESPHERE are way better than a lot of their  fellow countrymen and a lot more thrashier for sure, in the  vein of THE HAUNTED. In closing, check this by yourselves, except if you are convinced by my arguments  already and see what they do mean. Sorry if I can’t recommend “Bloodred Hatred” myself because it is a good album, neat and clean, but nothing much more.

Edouard Vergriete

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HATESPHERE
Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed And Something Black (MCD)
(Scarlet Records)
28:01min

What a short title, haha! After two full albums Danish modern Death / Thrashers HATESPERE release a MCD featuring one new track, two coversongs and four live recordings from their European tour with THE HAUNTED. The strong new song 'Release The Pain' ranges between up- and midtempo with a quite melodic chorus and is a nice foretaste of the next album. The coversongs are 'Bark At The Moon' by OZZY OSBOURNE and 'Caught In A Mosh' by ANTHRAX. On the musical side both songs are performed perfectly (I guess Ozzy would drop dead if he had to sing to such a speedy and pushing version!) but on the vocal side they lack the magic of the originals, which is of course a risk if you take on such metal classics. But altogether well done. The live recordings of 'Lowlife Vendetta', 'Bloodsoil', 'Plague' and 'Hate' are of excellent quality and point up the band's aggressive and powerful appearance on stage. So, for both fans and people who don't know HATESPHERE yet this release offers a good deal of modern Death / Thrash Metal. If you need some appetizers: on www.hatesphere.com you can find a couple of pictures, audio and video files.

Christoph Göbel

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HATESPHERE
Ballet Of The Brute
(Scarlet Records)
36:28min

Death / Thrashers HATESPHERE from Denmark are back with their third album. With a mighty production they slaughter through ten songs. Each song contains several monsterriffs plus brutal vocals and delivers a strong “mosh appeal madness“. Of course HATESPHERE invent nothing new to the genre of Death / Thrash Metal, but that doesn't bother me as long as they perform their songs as ragingly and brutally as on this release. When you're into this genre, I'm sure you'll like this energetic release and feel the urge to THRASH something when listening to it. Bandpage: www.hatesphere.com, labelpage: www.scarletrecords.it.

Christoph Göbel

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HATEWORK
Madbent For Disaster
(Witches Brew)
36:22min

When I saw the band's name I immediately associated this Italian three piece with the current Scandinavian neo Death / Thrash scene. But luckily (?) I was wrong - HATEWORK's roots seem to be a lot older than that as the material on this ten tracker is pure fuckin' oldschool Thrash Metal and the vocals are somewhere in between good ol' Gerre from TANKARD and NUCLEAR ASSAULT's John Connelly. HATEWORK are definitely no immature newcomers anymore, cause previously to this album, they already appeared on a few compilations and released a self financed mini CD called "Thrashers' Attack" in 2000 and a two track single ("Total War") in the year to follow. The music on their first full length "Madbent For Disaster" is generally very well executed, with a fluent yet savage riffing, great leads and an overall pretty cool, right into your face, fuck off and die attitude. Besides the obvious Thrash Metal background, there's also hints of classic MOTÖRHEAD (like in 'Total War') and old Punk (just check out the band's extremely cool MISFITS cover of 'All Hell Breaks Loose'!) to be discovered. This all together ends up in some very refreshing kick ass music which you can either drink your booze or bang your head to (or both). All further info you may find at the following websites: www.hatework.it, www.witches-brew.org

Frank Stöver  

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HATEWORK
Thrash’n’Roll
(Beer City Records)
42:00min

Well, when I received this promo and checked the booklet – that is, the photos in it, the tracks’ titles, the lyrics and, last but not least, the title of this output which is “Thrash’n’Roll”, I was sort of delighted, amused and annoyed at the same time. The design and outer appearance of this three-piece band is very telling, no bullshitting of generally interested listeners – that is what I thought – and that is what I was consumed in. Why delighted? After having inserted the CD, I was blasted away by these beerdrinker’s hymns – very charming actually. Some RATOS DE PORAO influences, a bit of TANKARD here and there, a bit of old AC/DC vibes in it well… and hey, we all love these acts, don’t we? Then HATEWORK are well aware of their own restrictions I reckon… they do know that they won’t change the music business, no bragging and dissing in here… like that. Why amused? Well, that is quite clear, isn’t it? If you have a look at the lyrics, titles ('XXX', 'Hateway To Hell', 'I.D.T.' which is short for Italian Drinking Team, lol) and if you check the music which is very straight-forward, punk-influenced and primitive – then at least I feel a bit amused in the sense that this music cannot be taken too seriously… because it isn’t meant 100% seriously. These guys are ok-ish musicians who compose the soundtrack for an escalating, wild and crazy party where there is a lot of beer involved. Why annoyed? Hmmmm, not really annoyed… this is not my kind of music really – you know that. It is ok for me listening to it once and putting it back into my CD-shelf. I reckon being intoxicated decently and then giving this a listen should be fun really. But listening to it consciously is a bit of a pain in my arse. I think I brought my point across… Otherwise – good one.

F. Cthulhu E.

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HATRED
Madhouse Symphonies
(self-financed)
55:19min

This is already the 2nd full-length recording from HATRED after their debut “Soulless” in 2004 but the first one from ‘em for me. What do we get here? HATRED play totally outdated Speed / Thrash Metal in the Bay Area vein. You easily can recognize huge influences from (to name the most common ones) TESTAMENT, EXODUS, OVERKILL or from METALLICA’s “Master Of Puppets” / ”…And Justice For ALL” - era. This music style might be totally unpopular and, as I already said above, outdated these days but exactly this makes them interesting. Metal never was meant to be up-to-date or popular, so fuckin’ what? What you get are 13 tunes of finest Bay Area Speed / Thrash Metal in a simply outstanding sound quality. Honestly the sound on this recording couldn’t be any better which can’t be taken for granted I’d say. Something amazing on this record is the vocalist Matthias “Bacchus” Mauer which sounds a little bit like a mix of Jon Oliva, Zac Stevens (both SAVATAGE) and Gerre from TANKARD, which is for sure only what I figure out, haha. Serious, it’s a great singer with a good Thrash- and a good clean and emotional voice (just listen to ‘Gates Of Hell’). If you are fan of the mentioned bands and the Bay Area sound itself I can highly recommend this CD to you as it’s just a perfect example how to make it correct: perfect sound, great layout and 13 cool and interesting (though everything else than original) songs in a playing time of nearly one hour. Well, and after 50 minutes you finally reached the best song on this CD ‘(We Are The) Mosh Crew’ which turned out as a great last song. For further details, especially ordering details check out www.hatredmetal.de and get in touch with the band to buy this cool Thrash album. English speaking persons please don’t complain about the homepage which is only written in German. Better get in touch with the guys via email at evilewald@hatredmetal.de.

Thomas Ehrmann

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HATRED DIVINE
Of Light And The Absence Of Light
(self financed)
47:06min

I don’t want to sound like an arrogant bastard, but there are bands out there that are so awful that it is hard to find non-vulgar words to describe them. In this case the best thing about HATRED DIVINE is their logo!!! Despite that, the German four-piece dedicated to create a mixture of atmospheric Black and Dark Metal commits a couple of serious musical crimes that degrades their second demo CD "Of Light And The Absence Of Light" to one of the most ridiculous albums I have ever heard: they use a drum computer, which I tolerate only on MORTICIAN’s "Chainsaw Dismemberment", the keyboards are way too dominant and even louder than the vocals, the riffs are lame, the guitar sound is even worse than the one I get from my 25 Watts amp and I have heard rehearsal tapes that had a better production than this CD. I’m really sorry guys, I really prefer to write positive reviews than such negative ones and I don’t want to be unfair or cruel, but "Of Light And The Absence Of Light" is absolutely horrible!!! I guess HATRED DIVINE just wanted too much too early. They should try to reduce the musical elements in their sound to the most essential ones and instead of improving their drum programming skills should invest more time in looking for a real drummer. If you are in need of a CD that is dark and gloomy look elsewhere, but if you in need of a laugh send 9 Euro to the following address: Stephan Spanaus, St. Georgsiedl. 36 C, 83043 Bad Aibling, Germany. www.hatreddivine.de

Stefan Franke

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