Review Summary: Great for those who're "kvlt", inaccessible to those who aren't. A rather unique vocalist in a not-so-unique band; as such, it can get dull after a while. Recommended in short bursts. Otherwise, it's dark, cold, ferocious and good!
Just look at that artwork. It says it all, doesn't it? This album, by Ukrainian black metal band Hate Forest, has all the hallmarks of what purists would call "Pure" black metal; grainy, over-distorted guitars with gritty tremolo-picked riffs, pounding drums with copious helpings of blastbeats and double bass, a raspy-..Wait, what's that you say? A Death Metal vocalist? Interesting!
But before we get to that, let's take a look at the band as a whole. As I said, this is a very typically "kvlt" black metal album; the tone is of the typical kind, piercing and icy, a drudging melancholy ode to pain and sorrow. Also, as is typical, the production is pretty bad; the guitars are sloppy and riffs tend to melt into each other, being barely audible above the contrastingly well-produced drumming, unless you have an ear for kvlt black metal. Of course, the drumming has to be well-produced, as it's the driving force behind the band. The guitars and drums have a very specific relationship; the guitars keep a steady pace, and give the album its harsh, raw quality, rarely seeming to change all that much throughout the tracks, following very specific, sparse patterns of dark, menacing notes at an unvaried tempo, while the drums give each track a unique level of intensity, offering texture to the guitar riffs they support. To do this, the drums usually switch between a hi-hat-/bass/snare combination for the slower (relatively speaking) parts, and monstrous pounding double bass with a good, steady dose of snare for the more intense parts. It mightn't sound very varied, which in reality, it isn't, which can make for a monotonous, droning listen for, well... Most. However, each track does have a unique feel to it, at least for those with a trained ear for black metal of this acquired taste of a brand. As for the bass, it mostly just follows the line of the guitars, and isn't really all that audible, except for the odd time it bravely distances itself from their lead, such as can be heard momentarily in "Elder Race"
Sound dull so far? Well, this is where the vocalist comes in, I feel I should start a separate paragraph here, as this is what sets this band apart from other black metal bands of this kind. Roman Saenko (who I think might in fact be the only member of Hate Forest; how Burzumic!) employs a rather different approach to vocals in this album, performing a low rhythmic and ferocious death metal growl. While this might turn off complete purists (but really, if you're -that- kvlt, I doubt anything'll meet your standards), I personally like it; he creates the impression of a wounded beast bellowing his agony from the forests of kvltness; just imagine such a monstrous creature inhabiting the foreboding forest shown on the album artwork, and there's your vocalist. He does vary it to a mid-range scream, which sounds rather good when layered on tracks such as "Elder Race" and "The Gates". When combined with the rest of the band, Saenko creates a raw (or should I say "Roar", HA! ...*Ahem*) unrelenting feeling of darkness within a wild, primal setting something that should delight lovers of kvlt black metal.
..But therein lies our problem; this band is -extremely- inaccessible; unless you have a very specific and trained ear for the acquired taste that is "pure" black metal, you're not going to like this album, and will most probably view it as dull and repetitive, which, to an extent, it very much is. Indeed, by "Desert of Ice" one could say that the album has begun to drag a bit, with the whole thing clocking around 45 minutes in length. For those who aren't familiar with it, it's a tedious listen, perhaps even with those who -are- familiar with it. In this respect, it is true that the majority of this band's work has a tendency to sound the same, consistently, with each album. They're obviously trying to appeal to a very niche audience, and they're succeeding, but if that's what they're going for, that's fine by me. Now, one other problem I have with this album, is that, although it serves to build tension at first, the ominous swelling of low strings before each of the tracks eventually becomes a little gimmicky, although it does serve to split the album up and prevent it from being one big continuous noise. Indeed, this it what it can seem to be when absorbed all at once; and, even for black metal lovers, I would recommend taking this album in short bursts in order to, for a while, close your eyes and absorb yourself into the, as I'll from now on call the black metal realm, "forest of kvltness". Granted, at the end of the album, it is rather nice to hear a track where the guitars aren't going at that same, moderately speedy tempo as in the rest of the album; "Cromlech" sounds pretty chilling, but unfortunately, it is just the same, doomy riff being played over and over until the end of the album.
All in all, this is a very typical ambient black metal album with an atypical vocalist, who at times, such as on "Megaliths", makes the songs momentarily interesting. Not to say they're entirely boring, but as I've said, for someone who doesn't like black metal, it really, really is, and even I find it incredibly boring at times. Nonetheless, the tone of the album is both beastly and cold, and gives black metal lovers that fix they need to get into the that dark, melancholy zone of kvltness. Although this might be a plus for some, the production remains shoddy, which mars the quality of the riffs, although their grainy, over-distorted sound does aid the rawness of the album. Were it not for the drums to give bursts of intensity, this album would be unlistenable, but since the tracks have their own different levels of this, it remains, to an extent, somewhat engaging to those who like that sort of thing. But, for those not into it, avoid it. I will say that I'm disappointed in this band's refusal to experiment a little, but that's just me; it’s ultimately a must-have for any "kvltist". Pretty long review, right? Well, let it serve as a review for practically every other Hate Forest album too. Anyway, bullet-point time!
Pros:
A raw, ferocious and dark tone that "Kvltists" are sure to love
An interesting choice of vocalist
Each track has its own level of intensity, with some fine drumming
Muddy guitar riffs and under-production could be seen as a plus by some, the drumming still drives the tracks
A nice black metal fix in short bursts
Cons:
The album really begins to drag after a while, at least by "Desert of Ice", even for one who likes this kind of music
The bad production makes the guitar riffs somewhat inaudible
To non-"kvltists", this band could be seen as agonisingly boring, and probably will be
Sounds very much like their other work, with little deviation from their norm
Although good at first, the swelling, ambient noise between tracks becomes gimmicky
The bass is often obscured by the rest of the band
Overdependence on drumming
