HATESPHERE – The Great Bludgeoning

HATESPHERE, the Danish Death/Thrash Metal band, last released an album in 2009 under the title “To The Nines” (see the review here). This was their sixth full-length and the first under the wings of Napalm Records. The line-up was also different compared to previous releases. Now, two years later, a new HATESPHERE comes forward with a new album, “The Great Bludgeoning”. This was released on the 23rd September. The line-up changed as follows, first the previous one, then the present one:

Jonathan “Joller” Albrechtsen – vocals
Peter “Pepe” Lyse Hansen – guitar
Jakob Nyholm – guitar
Mixen Lindberg – bass
Dennis Buhl – drums

Esben “Esse” Hansen – vocals
Peter “Pepe” Lyse Hansen – guitar
Jakob Nyholm – guitar
Jimmy Nedergaard – bass
Mike Park – drums

In short, Esben “Esse” Hansen (AS WE FIGHT, NUMBNUTS) became the new vocalist, Jimmy Nedergaard (GOB SQUAD) the new bassist and Mike Park (MERCENARY) the new drummer. Or, only the two guitarists remained on their position. Together these guys worked on album no. 7, “The Great Bludgeoning”. And as you may expect, it’s still HATESPHERE, new members or not. Prior to this new release, the Danish toured in the USA with THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER and NEVERMORE. HARESPHERE will co-headline the Headbangers Ball Tour in Denmark, and embark on both American and European tours. And while the new tunes are unmistakably HATESPHERE, it’s also due to the productional work of Tue Madsen.

HATESPHERE anno 2011 begins with “The Killer”, a ferocious Thrash attack in typical HATESPHERE style. It’s brutal, destructive and Esben’s yelling vocals do fit, to be honest, though it may take a bit of time to get used to his timbre. What stands out here is of course the catchy rhythm! “Venom” begins acoustically before slow, grooving Metal takes over. But that’s only paving the way for the speed and aggression that’s to come afterwards. Esben this time screams his lungs out and the music again has that typical catchy rhythm. In general this song, however, does get boring due to the lack of a solo. But!, there is an choir-ish moment later on that kind of makes up for that lack. Still, a solo would have been better. This then brings us to another highlight: “Smell Of Death”, another brutal and fast song, like before. The riffing is nice, there are few tempo changes – just to distinguish the chorus from the rest – and here is then finally the first solo. Good!

“Decayer” is another song I found a little less interesting or appealing. It starts with cracking sounds, while the guitars come fading in. There’s a touch of suspense, tension, mystery, fear and so on. Brutal double bass devastation is the unleashed and the band takes off with the classic humpa rhythm. The tempos are more variable here and there is more melodic input, which is of course good. “The Wail Of My Threnode” is an instrumental interlude, starting with clean guitarwork, later accompanied by the electric, well, distorted version that makes the bridge with “Resurrect With A Vengeance”. This song begins slowly, but heavy. Esben has adapted his growling too in terms of speed. The whole reminded me, in a way, of RAMMSTEIN’s self-titled song. Again you’ll find the tempo changing now and then, as is also the case for the rhythm and melodic aspect. All very well done! This is probably the most diverse track so far.

No direct attack in the title track, but a nice intro that allows for some building. When the song DOES take off, it takes off! Fast, pounding, furious… but oh so tasty! That’s again because of the riffing and rhythm. Esben’s vocals aren’t different from the other songs, i.e. they’re still aggressive. Then again, you can’t really sing (in a clean way, for example) in HATESPHERE, can you? It wouldn’t be right and the contrast with the music would be too big. In any case, this is another rather simple, but effective song. The solo is nice and welcome. “Need To Kill” is also a (midtempo) groovy Death/Thrash track. It sounds tight and powerful. Musically it’s got the classic ingredients, while going more melodic in the chorus. There’s a boost over halfway, followed by the solo. Definitely not for the weak of heart. Last but not least there’s “Devil In Your Own Hell”, which just follows the pattern of being direct, aggressive and destructive. And excellent way to end a very nice album.

“To The Nines” was/is a very good album, without question. It delivered the goods, even if it wasn’t the band’s best effort when comparing all releases. “The Great Bludgeoning” kind of continues where the previous album left off, but somehow the songs are rougher, more ferocious, less polished than before and that is a good move. HATESPHERE are still alive and kicking and won’t be going away anytime soon, it seems. Recommended material for the fans and those in need of aggressive Thrash tunes to provide them with a regular energy boost or way to channel their anger/hate/frustration/…

Tracklist:

1. The Killer
2. Venom
3. Smell Of Death
4. Decayer
5. The Wail Of My Threnode
6. Resurrect With A Vengeance
7. The Great Bludgeoning
8. Need To Kill
9. Devil In Your Own Hell

Line-up:
Esben “Esse” Hansen – vocals
Peter “Pepe” Lyse Hansen – guitar
Jakob Nyholm – guitar
Jimmy Nedergaard – bass
Mike Park – drums

[xrr rating=4/5 =”Rating: “]