Review Summary: Pure evil and hate in auditory format.
2019 was surely a year full of surprises and fantastic releases, but, as always, some extremely deserving albums passed a bit on the sly, which is the case with Merda Mundi's "Hatred", a 36-minutes long LP that marks the debut of the Belgian one-man band on the streaming platforms as well.
"Hatred" certainly deserves a spot among the heaviest albums ever to pass on my phones, which is really saying something considering I'm quite an assiduous extreme metal listener: musically speaking, the album's formula consists in a mixture of raw black metal and grindcore, a combo that relentlessly beats up the listener for the whole duration of the CD, never letting go or diminishing in intensity or brutality. The raw but at the same time modern production perfectly fits the chaotic nature of the music, revolving around absolutely evil and crushing tremolo picked guitar riffs, malevolently dissonant chords and arpeggios and the occasional chugging session/string scratch. Meanwhile, a relentless drum machine (I suppose) storms the listener's eardrums with a neverending succession of blast beats, hyper blasts and double bass drumming, with a level of ferocity that I have rarely experienced in any other record.
Finally, the rabid screams of DéhÃ* are the real icing on the hate cake, as he sounds like a real demon vomiting forth his hatred against the entire human race. Misanthropic lyricism may sound as a cliché nowadays, but I assure you that you've never listened to someone sounding so convincingly mad and genocidal ever before. A real storm of darkness, misanthropia, hatred and unmatched rage in auditory format, and what's so surprising is the fact that, despite its seemingly monotonous attitude, the music manages to keep the listener entertained until the very end, which is saying something on the skills of the sole composer, considering the platter is made of only four tracks, all setting around the eight minutes mark (with the exception of the album's closer, which lasts twelve).
In these terms, the superb riffing and the complex yet entertaining structure of the songs, which include many crescendos and outbursts of brutality, is definitely to praise, not to mention the superbly malevolent and dark atmosphere of the platter, capable of absorbing the listener instead of just hitting him in the face. All in all, "Hatred" proves to be an absolutely crushing and well-crafted product, surely one of the heaviest releases of the year, and certainly one of the most brutal black metal albums ever to be created. If you like extreme metal, be sure not to pass on this one; if you want to challenge yourself with something REALLY heavy, give this a try!
Originally written for https://www.metal-archives.com/
