Hate’s “Solarflesh” Reviewed

Hate are a four-piece death metal band hailing from Poland. They’re releasing their new album, Solarflesh, on January 30th in Europe and February 5th In the United States.

Band: Hate
Album: Solarflesh
Genre: Blackened Death Metal
Label: Napalm Records
Release Date: January 30th (EU)/February 5th (NA)

Hate are set to release their follow-up album to 2010′s Erebos entitled Solarflesh. Given the fact that Erebos was an astounding album in its own right, this may seem like a pretty daunting task. However, I can honestly say that these guys have crafted an album that will no doubt be one of the strongest in their catalog. The album clocks in at about 48 minutes in length and contains 9 tracks ranging from the 3 minute intro track to the 7 minute epic “Sadness Will Last Forever”.

Hate’s sound is very similar to that of their countrymen, Behemoth. Of course this is not a bad thing, especially given the fact that Behemoth are a stellar band and were probably a major influence on Hate. They both have a very fast, technical style of blackened death metal with a much heavier emphasis on the death metal aspect of it. However, one can easily pick out the black metal influence in their music, especially on this album. The use of dissonant sounding guitar chords, hyper fast blast beats, and heavy emphasis on atmosphere are evidence of this.

The album itself is mixed fantastically. None of the instruments overpower each other, and there’s even an audible bass track on this album, which seems to be missing from a lot of death metal bands. The drums sound absolutely stellar. They sound very natural and organic with none of the clickiness in the kick drums caused by drum triggers. The guitar sound is very heavy and meaty. The vocals are mid-range death growls that don’t show much variation but still keep the listener interested.

I must take a moment to acknowledge the drum work on this album. I find it quite hard to comprehend how Hexen, their drummer, keeps up the pace so well and for so long. It truly is incredible. This album is a prime example of what extreme metal drumming is all about.

The album starts off with an intro track entitled “Watchful Eye of Doom.” This track is quite a fitting intro to the album. When I hear it, I imagine a massive army marching into battle to destroy their enemies. This is a very fitting image, as the rest of the album, for me at least, invokes images of a mighty Roman leader shouting commands to his men.

Next is what is basically the album’s opening track, “Eternal Might.” This track starts off rather slow, and then suddenly changes pace and direction entirely. It kicks into hyper speed very quickly and just does not let up at all. The next track, “Alchemy of Blood,” begins with a very ominous sounding intro and again quickly jumps to ludicrous speed. That’s one thing I love about this album: the speed. I race cars occasionally and when I’m not, I’m constantly looking for something with the pace behind it to give me somewhat of a vicarious thrill. This album does just that, and it does it while still being entertaining. That’s the thing about some death metal: it gets old and stale rather quickly. This album, however, does not.

The following track, titled “Timeless Kingdom,” begins with dissonant guitar chords that establish a very grim and bleak atmosphere. This is another example of how Hate work black metal into their music. Towards the end of the track is a very simple guitar lead, but what it lacks in the technicality department it makes up for by fitting in perfectly with the music behind it. The following track, “Festival of Slaves,” begins with almost an Indian-sounding kind of chant to possibly represent the slaves discussed in the song title. This intro leads into one of the fastest and heaviest songs on the album, and one that is definitely one of the stand-out tracks.

The next track, “Sadness Will Last Forever,” is probably my favorite on the album. It’s definitely the slowest song on the album (which isn’t really saying much), but even so it manages to maintain the listener’s attention. It begins with a very gloomy intro and some very emotive guitar playing which give the listener the idea that sadness indeed will last forever. Never before have I heard death metal conjure up such a gloomy atmosphere with this level of ease.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DawZ0jMwdW0]

Next up is the title track, “Solarflesh.” The acoustic intro to this track bears a striking resemblance to the intro of Nile’s classic album, Annihilation of the Wicked, “Dusk Falls Upon the Temple of the Serpent on the Mount of Sunrise.” This intro provides a fantastic climax when the monstrous brutality kicks in. The only complaint about this track I have is that, right around the 4 minute mark, there is a rather annoying screeching sound in the background that reminds me of a bird being squeezed just a bit too hard. It’s probably just the hands moving along the strings of the guitar that created this nuisance, but it’s there nonetheless and I can’t really ignore it. This is just a minor complaint though, as the track is still extremely brutal.

“Endless Purity” takes the reins next, and again displays the band bringing the blackened element back into play. The dissonant chords used in the riffs create a very dank and dreary atmosphere, which could be seen as a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your taste. The track “Mesmerized” brings the album to a close. This track is more mid-paced in nature, but is still quite a scorcher. It does a fantastic job of bringing the album to a close, basically summing up what the rest of the album was all about.

All in all, this is a fantastic album and I urge you all to pick it up when it comes out.