Infinited Hate
Heaven Termination (cd)
Wydane przez Displeased RecordsRok wydania 2005Kraj HollandNapisał Wouter7
With both Houwitser and Sinister disbanding (and the latter re-forming not that much later) there was a blank spot that needed to be filled in the Dutch brutal death metal scene. Infinited Hate took the spot and soon released their "Revel In Bloodshed" debut, which I - in contrary to many other reviewers - wasn't really all that excited about. While the album presented a competent slab of brutal US death metal it never really struck a nerve with me. The songwriting wasn't particularly strong, Rachel's vocals sounded processed and unnatural, it was too fixed on speed and the drum computer worked as an annoyance in the long run. "Heaven Termination" however differs on a few aspects from the band's raw debut. First of all, there's the mid-tempo that's present in the majority of the material, second there's the session drumming of the acclaimed Dirk Verbeuren (Aborted, Soilwork, Scarve). With all this working in the band's advantage "Heaven Termination" should rectify most of the former mishaps, right? Well, almost. 'Demoniacal Sepulture' opens the record and displays the evolution the band has gone through since the debut. The mid-tempo speed allows the track to breathe and flow more freely, Rachel's growls sound far more natural this time around, the tempo changes multiple times and a well-placed, tasteful guitar solo even rears its head. 'Unholy Commandments' bring more chugging death metal that occasionally speeds up to create contrasting textures and conflicting atmospheres. 'Horned Priest' is the first track to show vague diversity in the vocal department as well as the guitar work. The slight melodies that can be noticed in the guitar lines are complemented by Rachel's spare higher vocal approach. This is somewhat reminiscent of early Deicide - but never truly further explored in favor of plain monotonous grunting. All old school elements are to be found on "Heaven Termination" and that's the record's redeeming factor. Verbeuren's session drumming on this album is solid, but notably less engaging and varied as on Aborted seminal "Goremageddon". Ron Van de Polder's riffs (both on guitar as bass) are far more interesting this time around, the vocal interaction between both Rachel and Aad is hard to make out at times, if there's any interaction at all. Rachel seems to care of the majority of the material, with Aad adding his lines from time to time. If you're looking for interaction in the vein of Dying Fetus or Nile - better look elsewhere. Artwork by Graal is once again quite stunning, the production courtesy of Excess Studios suits the record very well. The brutal death metal crowds will love this record any which way, I will reserve my vote until Infinited Hate presents it's all important third album. We then should be able to see whether the changes introduced on this record are truly evolution or some passing phase. Credit to Infinited Hate for introducing guitar solo's into their tracks and for not relying on blastbeats all the time. A competent, strong old school oriented brutal death metal offering here, folks - but I miss the enthusiasm a bit.
infinitedhate.wingsofdeath.nu/
