Rating: 4.7

Country: Netherlands

Genre: Death Metal

Record Label: Deity Down Records

Release Date: 2008

Track list:
1. Christian Dogma [mp3]
2. Religion = War
3. The Atheist
4. Involution [mp3]
5. Beholder of Hate
6. Transition
7. Enslaved by a Living Deity
8. Blessed by Possession
9. Reflected in Dead Eyes
10. Blasphemous Deliverance

Total Playing Time: 36:37

Band Website: Hatred

Hatred - Blasphemous Deliverance

Koen Dingemans - Vocals
Peter de Jonge - Bass, Vocals
Peter van der Schraaf - Guitar
Rob de Waardt - Drums

The recent upsurge in the popularity of so-called old-school death metal could be the sole driver behind this release. Blasphemous Deliverance is a natural sounding, unforced and sincerely retrospective effort, but only one album after nearly a decade would suggest that Hatred are a laid-back bunch who may have otherwise been content to stay underground; to my ears they lack the confidence or arrogance of their peers.

I cannot help feeling that the current backlash against (lazily-labelled) "technical" death metal is a misguided rebellion seeking a return to perceived better times. But old-school classics are not classic because of the style, they are classic because of their individuality. Although fans of old Entombed/Dismember love that fizzy bassy distortion it is the thrashing dynamism and underlying morbidity that stamps the memory. Current old-school bandwagon-jumpers seem to forget that a lot of the albums they venerate were often given brutal criticism when they were new (using words like "droning", "banal" or "boring"). Skepticism should be applied equally across eras; it is the only way to attain a modicum of objectivity. The real measure of talent and strength is a willingness to deliberately choose the hardest path; to rise to a greater challenge rather than fall back into a comfort zone. Even if you have nothing new to say, there is still the challenge of distilling the quintessential essence of everything worthy that has transpired from inception to present in extreme metal (and perhaps bring in exterior influences too). Whereas their hyped-up countrymen Hail of Bullets vociferously reject all that is "technical" and cripple their mindset before they've begun, Hatred seem to be playing within their modest capabilities instead.

The primary Unleashed influence announces itself promptly. "Christian Dogma" uses slow melodic chord progressions, crunchy mutes and sliding chords to primitive effect. A little stop/start blasting precedes a minor taster of Immolation harmony. The slow Immolation theme is reprised in "Blessed by Possession", due to the two-tone harmonic interval between tremolo-picked guitars. The mood is lacking in danger but some ambience is present. The throaty vocals are minimalistic and low density but at least have high clarity. "Religion = War", "Beholder of Hate" and the title track are more blatantly Unleashed in style. Purring kick drums underpin gloomy tremolo picking for those simple icy melodies and there is the occasional injection of jagged thrash picking. A brief waft of early Cannibal Corpse drifts by during "Reflected in Dead Eyes" due to more agitated fretting.

At worst this can be sluggish, inoffensive, faceless and flabby. At best it is repetition made ambiently hypnotic by some expertly evolving drum dynamics that succeed in lifting the compositions massively. But it is not enough. Fundamentally this is unnecessary material and eminently forgettable. Die-hard Unleashed fans will probably just buy Hammer Battalion and be done with it, although I wouldn't know myself. "Our work will endure the ages" (so say the lyrics of the seventh track). No it will not, sadly, but not for want of trying.

October 24th, 2008