Hatred

If you would ask random people from other countries what they know about the Netherlands, you'd probably hear things like pot, wooden shoes, pot, windmills, pot, Amsterdam, pot and tulips. Good chance someone will bring up the subject of pot as well, but seldom do you hear someone say: "The Netherlands? Sure, DEATH FUCKING METAL!!!!". Such a shame, because since the earliest beginnings of the genre, the country has always had a fertile scene throughout the years, with bands ranging from well-known and influential, all the way to those who fell by the wayside. It is in this last category that we find the main characters of this review: Hatred.

The music on this cd is best described as old school death metal, kinda like Death, Morgoth and Massacre produced on their first albums, with some nods to early Morbid Angel in the faster parts. These elements can be clearly heard in the pounding drumming, the on-point riffing and gruff vocals, all taking the listener back to the late 80's and early 90's. The cool thing about their music is that the old school death also has the influence of the rougher thrash bands of yore. The influence of Slayer runs deep in the guitar work, and their approach to the music bears the mark of thrashers like early Kreator and Deathrow. Throughout the runtime of this demo, the names of Dark Angel and the Texan thrashers of Devastation popped up as well and let's be honest, you just can't be mad for something like that. The band has kept their compositions pretty basic and straight forward, and this benefits the music greatly. It's a veritable stroll through the death/thrash scene from the early 90's.

So it is with a sore feeling in my chest that I come to the subject of the production, because that leaves some to be desired, unfortunately. On this recording, Hatred was on the receiving end of the dreaded monstrosity that is late 90's sound engineering. The guitars lack body, making them sound kinda weak in the mix, but the worst part of the production has got to be the triggered percussion. The drums sound very boxy, and in the more up-tempo parts they sound pretty messy, almost bordering on chaotic. This is no criticism on the drummer's performance, the man nails it in awesome fashion, but on the abysmal digital sound of the kit. Mind you, this cd is not unlistenable, but the production does give the music a kind of neutered feel, there was definitely more in this sound wise.

This is not a bad release, the music pounds and thuds, but the crap production hinders the band to really blow up. Still, I feel that this is a good listen for those into old school death metal. No fuss, no bullshit, just good old fashioned death metal. As it should be.