Hate
Solarflesh: A Gospel of Radiant Divinity
Solarflesh: A Gospel of Radiant Divinity
(R.I.P. Sławek "Mortifer" Archangielskij)
They’re back!
Yes, Polish death metal titans Hate have recently graced fans with "a gospel of radiant divinity" in their latest opus, Solarflesh, proving that after 23 years and seven full-lengths already behind them, they’re still very much alive and as ready to kill as ever with this follow-up to 2010/2011’s Erebos. Clocking in at just over one hour long (including bonus tracks), Solarflesh is a brutal assault that we’ve come to expect from ATF Sinner and crew that will sate die-hard, old-school Hate fans, as well as more general fans of death metal as a whole.
The album starts off with a rather slow-paced, three-minute instrumental entitled “Watchful Eye ov Doom” (yes, they’ve taken a page out of brother Behemoth’s book and began using “ov” instead of “of”) that, in all honesty, could have been cut down a bit. It’s three minutes of repetition that could have been cut in half, but nonetheless provides an enjoyable introduction to the album, which picks up a bit with track two, “Eternal Might”. The second-longest track on the album, “Eternal Might” keeps the ominous feel from the intro lingering in the background for about the first minute and a half until frontman Adam finally does his big, bold vocal reveal with a tremendous roar of “black fucking disdain!” through the sudden silence. The main guitar riff in this song is pretty damn enjoyable even though it isn’t anything too complex (simplicity is key!). It has a fun solo courtesy of Destroyer about 3/4th the way through that wouldn’t have hurt anyone being a little longer after its abrupt stop, but there’s nothing wrong with it as is. I personally feel the production on this track was a little off, as it sounded as if Sinner’s vocals were almost pushed behind the guitars a little bit for most of the song’s duration, though this was cured in the following track, “Alchemy ov Blood” which is easily one of my favorite tracks from the album. The first riff in this song is probably one of the most enjoyable parts of the entire album, as is the second solo that’s included about halfway through. Much of the rest of the guitar work in this song is reminiscent of “Quintessence of Higher Suffering”, which was track four on Erebos, so they’re practically picking up right where they left off. “Alchemy ov Blood” is one of those songs that keeps punching you in the face right up until the last second, and gets better and better as it goes.
Unfortunately, in the following track, “Timeless Kingdom”, the production reverts back to what’s found on “Eternal Might”, as the vocals come second to the rest of the band. While enjoyable, “Timeless Kingdom” didn’t have any real “WOW” moments, and about mid-way through the actual music comes second to some strange ambiance that sounds like something that was borrowed from left-over Morphosis recordings. Destroyer triumphs with another solo towards the end, which is rather slow and melancholy, and Sinner joins him in turning the very end of the solo into the outro riff that sets listeners up for “Festival ov Slaves”, which is another one of the album’s shining moments. The shortest track on the album (not including bonus tracks), we hear powerful proclamations of suicide and insanity, the former of which is the main theme of the album. “Festival ov Slaves” is one of, if not the, fastest song found on the album where it would be offensive to not mention Hexen’s drumming, which seem at times to be the focal point of the track. This is where he proves just how fast a drummer he can be, and he does an outstanding job.
Then, we finally arrive at the longest track on the album, “Sadness Will Last Forever”. I, too, snickered at the name the first time I saw the track list, but seriously, don’t let it fool you. This track is sad. Not sad as in pathetic, but sad as in depressing, melancholy, sorrowful, and any other synonym you can think of. It makes you think, “what the hell happen to Sinner between Erebos and this? What the hell happened to our psychologist who mocked Christianity and pathetic human behavior? Who taunted death and spat on the cross? SINNER, WHERE ARE YOU?” He’s there alright, just with a different approach. Instead of taunting death, he’s succumbing to it, and that’s the basis of the lyrical structure for the album. The intro/outro riff of this song is what gives that really despairing feel that someone is more likely to find in, say, DSBM (depressive suicidal black metal) bands like Cheerful Depression. The tone changes a bit throughout the song, however, such as in another enjoyable solo performed by Mateusz Szemraj, a Polish guitarist who was one of three guests on the album, which kind of makes you forget you’re listening to a song about depression/suicide until Sinner starts singing again. After seven sad minutes, the song fades out to oblivion, the final deed done, and then we get OUR ACOUSTICS!
I was so waiting in angst for the acoustics and I was so excited when we finally got them on track seven, the title-track, another of the top tracks from the album. After the acoustic intro to “Omega” on Morphosis and the intro to Erebos, “Genesis”, and others, I craved some of Hate’s acoustic work. The vocals are once again at the forefront of the song once they kick in, and, after the stellar acoustics, the overall pace picks up quite a bit so that it’s up with “Festival ov Slaves” in that respect. Like “Alchemy ov Blood”, it gets better as it goes, staying heavy and brutal throughout. If you don’t love Hate's guitar work yet, you will after the solo in “Solarflesh”, no questions asked. It’s another great one, one of my personal favorites, performed by frontman ATF Sinner. We also finally hear a much-expected reference to Lucifer – very obviously – towards the end, which is good to see they haven’t forgotten how they started.
“Endless Purity” slows down a bit…basically everywhere. The solo is dramatic (not in a bad way) and simplistic, Hexen’s drumming isn’t nearly as fast as the rest of the album (even “Sadness Will Last Forever” was faster), and there’s a bit more repetition on this song than the others. It kind of ranks with “Timeless Kingdom”, as it was devoid of any “wow” moments, but was still rather enjoyable. The following track, “Mesmerized”, was the closing track to the album, but it didn’t really have that closing-track feel to it. It was made a bit dramatic with the addition of a female voice thrown in the background that sounds border-line humorous the first go-round or two. It was slightly weak lyrically at times (“I watch the blood/crimson drops hit the sink” Adam, even you know you can do better than that), and it fades out into the bonus tracks, as if someone assumed giving a song a fade-out automatically qualifies it for being a closing track. Not a bad song, but most certainly not an accurate portrayal of Hate’s potential and skill.
Overall, a solid release from a great band. Did it meet expectations? For the most part, yes. Did it become my favorite release from Hate? Eh, no; Morphosis still holds the crown for myself and I’m sure many others (or Anaclasis, which some see as the band’s best release to date). Solarflesh was a fantastic death metal release that was riddled with suicidal ideology that diverged a bit from the band’s philosophical and irreligious roots, which will probably only make it appeal to a wider audience. With its dark imagery, I give it a pretty decent 88%, as it was a wonderful follow-up to Erebos, and I will definitely be keeping my hopes up that the band visits North America in support of this great album.
Noteworthy Tracks:
Track Three: “Alchemy ov Blood”
Track Five: “Festival ov Slaves”
Track Seven: “Solarflesh”
They’re back!
Yes, Polish death metal titans Hate have recently graced fans with "a gospel of radiant divinity" in their latest opus, Solarflesh, proving that after 23 years and seven full-lengths already behind them, they’re still very much alive and as ready to kill as ever with this follow-up to 2010/2011’s Erebos. Clocking in at just over one hour long (including bonus tracks), Solarflesh is a brutal assault that we’ve come to expect from ATF Sinner and crew that will sate die-hard, old-school Hate fans, as well as more general fans of death metal as a whole.
The album starts off with a rather slow-paced, three-minute instrumental entitled “Watchful Eye ov Doom” (yes, they’ve taken a page out of brother Behemoth’s book and began using “ov” instead of “of”) that, in all honesty, could have been cut down a bit. It’s three minutes of repetition that could have been cut in half, but nonetheless provides an enjoyable introduction to the album, which picks up a bit with track two, “Eternal Might”. The second-longest track on the album, “Eternal Might” keeps the ominous feel from the intro lingering in the background for about the first minute and a half until frontman Adam finally does his big, bold vocal reveal with a tremendous roar of “black fucking disdain!” through the sudden silence. The main guitar riff in this song is pretty damn enjoyable even though it isn’t anything too complex (simplicity is key!). It has a fun solo courtesy of Destroyer about 3/4th the way through that wouldn’t have hurt anyone being a little longer after its abrupt stop, but there’s nothing wrong with it as is. I personally feel the production on this track was a little off, as it sounded as if Sinner’s vocals were almost pushed behind the guitars a little bit for most of the song’s duration, though this was cured in the following track, “Alchemy ov Blood” which is easily one of my favorite tracks from the album. The first riff in this song is probably one of the most enjoyable parts of the entire album, as is the second solo that’s included about halfway through. Much of the rest of the guitar work in this song is reminiscent of “Quintessence of Higher Suffering”, which was track four on Erebos, so they’re practically picking up right where they left off. “Alchemy ov Blood” is one of those songs that keeps punching you in the face right up until the last second, and gets better and better as it goes.
Unfortunately, in the following track, “Timeless Kingdom”, the production reverts back to what’s found on “Eternal Might”, as the vocals come second to the rest of the band. While enjoyable, “Timeless Kingdom” didn’t have any real “WOW” moments, and about mid-way through the actual music comes second to some strange ambiance that sounds like something that was borrowed from left-over Morphosis recordings. Destroyer triumphs with another solo towards the end, which is rather slow and melancholy, and Sinner joins him in turning the very end of the solo into the outro riff that sets listeners up for “Festival ov Slaves”, which is another one of the album’s shining moments. The shortest track on the album (not including bonus tracks), we hear powerful proclamations of suicide and insanity, the former of which is the main theme of the album. “Festival ov Slaves” is one of, if not the, fastest song found on the album where it would be offensive to not mention Hexen’s drumming, which seem at times to be the focal point of the track. This is where he proves just how fast a drummer he can be, and he does an outstanding job.
Then, we finally arrive at the longest track on the album, “Sadness Will Last Forever”. I, too, snickered at the name the first time I saw the track list, but seriously, don’t let it fool you. This track is sad. Not sad as in pathetic, but sad as in depressing, melancholy, sorrowful, and any other synonym you can think of. It makes you think, “what the hell happen to Sinner between Erebos and this? What the hell happened to our psychologist who mocked Christianity and pathetic human behavior? Who taunted death and spat on the cross? SINNER, WHERE ARE YOU?” He’s there alright, just with a different approach. Instead of taunting death, he’s succumbing to it, and that’s the basis of the lyrical structure for the album. The intro/outro riff of this song is what gives that really despairing feel that someone is more likely to find in, say, DSBM (depressive suicidal black metal) bands like Cheerful Depression. The tone changes a bit throughout the song, however, such as in another enjoyable solo performed by Mateusz Szemraj, a Polish guitarist who was one of three guests on the album, which kind of makes you forget you’re listening to a song about depression/suicide until Sinner starts singing again. After seven sad minutes, the song fades out to oblivion, the final deed done, and then we get OUR ACOUSTICS!
I was so waiting in angst for the acoustics and I was so excited when we finally got them on track seven, the title-track, another of the top tracks from the album. After the acoustic intro to “Omega” on Morphosis and the intro to Erebos, “Genesis”, and others, I craved some of Hate’s acoustic work. The vocals are once again at the forefront of the song once they kick in, and, after the stellar acoustics, the overall pace picks up quite a bit so that it’s up with “Festival ov Slaves” in that respect. Like “Alchemy ov Blood”, it gets better as it goes, staying heavy and brutal throughout. If you don’t love Hate's guitar work yet, you will after the solo in “Solarflesh”, no questions asked. It’s another great one, one of my personal favorites, performed by frontman ATF Sinner. We also finally hear a much-expected reference to Lucifer – very obviously – towards the end, which is good to see they haven’t forgotten how they started.
“Endless Purity” slows down a bit…basically everywhere. The solo is dramatic (not in a bad way) and simplistic, Hexen’s drumming isn’t nearly as fast as the rest of the album (even “Sadness Will Last Forever” was faster), and there’s a bit more repetition on this song than the others. It kind of ranks with “Timeless Kingdom”, as it was devoid of any “wow” moments, but was still rather enjoyable. The following track, “Mesmerized”, was the closing track to the album, but it didn’t really have that closing-track feel to it. It was made a bit dramatic with the addition of a female voice thrown in the background that sounds border-line humorous the first go-round or two. It was slightly weak lyrically at times (“I watch the blood/crimson drops hit the sink” Adam, even you know you can do better than that), and it fades out into the bonus tracks, as if someone assumed giving a song a fade-out automatically qualifies it for being a closing track. Not a bad song, but most certainly not an accurate portrayal of Hate’s potential and skill.
Overall, a solid release from a great band. Did it meet expectations? For the most part, yes. Did it become my favorite release from Hate? Eh, no; Morphosis still holds the crown for myself and I’m sure many others (or Anaclasis, which some see as the band’s best release to date). Solarflesh was a fantastic death metal release that was riddled with suicidal ideology that diverged a bit from the band’s philosophical and irreligious roots, which will probably only make it appeal to a wider audience. With its dark imagery, I give it a pretty decent 88%, as it was a wonderful follow-up to Erebos, and I will definitely be keeping my hopes up that the band visits North America in support of this great album.
Noteworthy Tracks:
Track Three: “Alchemy ov Blood”
Track Five: “Festival ov Slaves”
Track Seven: “Solarflesh”
"Bonus Tracks" Critique
(I personally don’t take points off for any flaws in bonus tracks, so this will be included down here as, like bonus tracks, an extra.) Solarflesh had three bonus tracks: “Hatehammer”, “Venom”, and “Fall ov All Icons”. “Hatehammer” could easily have been switched with “Mesmerized” on the album, as it was overall a much more enjoyable song. It was more hard-hitting, yet had more of a closing-track feel to it than the actual choice. The other two, “Venom” and “Fall ov All Icons”, are better kept as bonus tracks. “Venom” especially, since it was utterly unnecessary and border-line annoying. Both tracks reflect the repetitiveness of the bonus tracks found on Erebos, which a few people were glad that they were restricted to being exclusive bonus tracks only. “Fall ov All Icons” was, again, unnecessary, but more…dynamic and interesting than “Venom”, at least.
(I personally don’t take points off for any flaws in bonus tracks, so this will be included down here as, like bonus tracks, an extra.) Solarflesh had three bonus tracks: “Hatehammer”, “Venom”, and “Fall ov All Icons”. “Hatehammer” could easily have been switched with “Mesmerized” on the album, as it was overall a much more enjoyable song. It was more hard-hitting, yet had more of a closing-track feel to it than the actual choice. The other two, “Venom” and “Fall ov All Icons”, are better kept as bonus tracks. “Venom” especially, since it was utterly unnecessary and border-line annoying. Both tracks reflect the repetitiveness of the bonus tracks found on Erebos, which a few people were glad that they were restricted to being exclusive bonus tracks only. “Fall ov All Icons” was, again, unnecessary, but more…dynamic and interesting than “Venom”, at least.
(Originally written for headbangerssanctuary.com on Feb. 12th, 2013)
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