Hey there tech fiends, it's that time of the week again. Before we dive into today's focus, here's the usual reminder that if you're looking for more sick music, all prior editions of this series can be perused here.
We return once again to the incredible Canadian tech-death scene, today’s focus zeroing in on a fairly new group hailing from Ottawa called Hatred Reigns. I have my good friend Dave Tremblay to thank for hearing about this one, as it popped up on the weekly release feature he does for his own site, Can This Even Be Called Music, that frequently covers a litany of great obscure and underground music even I am unaware of. If I’m being honest, it’s really the stunning cover art that piqued my interest, and kudos on the band hiring Nathan Lee (Burial In The Sky, Mordant Rapture, Enigma) who did a standout job here as he always does. The art really draws you in from get-got go and gives a clear heads up that music of quality is more than likely found within. While not always true, it’s easier to find good music paired with good cover art, and a lot of middling to weak efforts sporting poorly done covers on the other end of the trend spectrum.
Realm: I – Affliction is the group’s debut release and overall calls to mind a darker Beneath the Massacre mixed with a Hate Eternal churning evil undercurrent to it and occasional prog-death flourishes forming interesting connective tissue to the overall onslaught. While Beneath The Massacre itself is a Canadian act, for the purposes of clarifying what Hatred Reigns does musically, a fair bit of its three songs extends into more "traditional" sounding Canadian tech-death styles such as Cryptopsy and Archspire as well as drawing inspiration from other groups outside of Canada such as Hideous Divinity and Suffocation among others.
I’ve made no secret over the years that I am a mega obsessed fan of Beneath The Massacre, but, that the cluster of bands whose sole identity is wrapped up in imitating Beneath The Massacre doesn’t do much for me in most cases. There has to be something else to it to interest me, and by extending their musical identity beyond the cybernetic mechanical minded insanity of Beneath The Massacre, Hatred Reigns have succeeded where many of their peers influenced by the band have in my view, failed to offer us anything worth spinning on its own merits.
Realm: I – Affliction is a satisfying slab of devastation, it is prime brutality with an intricate edge full of twists and turns at frequent intervals. Hatred Reigns show a lot of promise here and this is only the beginning for them. I'm looking forward to hearing what they come up with next. If you enjoy the release after hitting play below, it can be ordered through the Hatred Reigns Bandcamp Page. You can follow the group over on the Hatred Reigns Facebook Page.
