There was no spiel or prattle in the press release about the new Hate Forest album, and rightly so. What can you say about the career to date of Ukrainian one-man band Hate Forest that isn’t already known? So on to the new album ‘Innermost’ which was released this week by Osmose Productions, and is adorned by minimalist, bleak toned cover art that is very much a Hate Forest staple.
Opening track ‘Those Who Howl Inside the Snowstorm’ really does set the tone for the whole album. The name alone suggests a maelstrom of noise and chaos and Hate Forest doesn’t disappoint. A cataclysm of roaring riffs and thundering drum tones surge forward unapologetically and don’t abate until well into the second track, ‘By Full Moon’s Light Alone the Steppe Throne Can Be Seen’. Hate Forest have also opted for a slightly sparse and minimalist tone on the production that really adds to the cold, hostile vibe of the album.
This wouldn’t be a true Hate Forest release with a few more ambient interludes thrown into the mix, and they do creep up every now and again to temper the ongoing whirlwind of bleak urgent noise that is this albums default setting. Yet even at Hate Forest’s most vicious sounding, a haunting, grinding atmosphere is created. I’d say that the third track ‘Ice – Cold Bloodless Veins’ pretty much sums up the aura of ‘Innermost; cold, aloof, and hostile.
‘Innermost’ is an easy album to like, despite its brutal one-track mind. It has a grim flavour that is decidedly Hate Forest and a marauding temperament throughout.
Burning Metal