Originally written by Jeremy Garner
Well damn, it seems Poland has done it again. Not one to rest on their laurels for long, Hate are back on the Polish scene after 2003’s release Awakening of the Liar and continue to make a definitive, tour de force statement with their across the board relentless Death metal assault. With Anaclasis being released alongside phenomenal releases from contemporaries Vader and Decapitated, the Polish scene seems to be well alive and absolutely thriving with talent.
After a rather pointless minute or so integration of static and attempted eerie ambiance, Hate launches headfirst into the album namesake “Anaclasis”. Death metal bands really would be better off scrapping intros unless the band can actually in some way strengthen the overall effect of the CD with an intro (It’s frustrating as hell that on this CD I can’t skip the minute of bullshit noises and get straight to the metal). “Anaclasis” serves as a menacing introduction to the rest of the material by laying down their basic philosophy: no frills and no nonsense; go for the jugular. This layout is the same for the rest of the songs to come. Though direct and effective, Anaclasis comes off being disappointingly predictable and formulaic; subtlety is obviously not a trait in Hate’s repertoire. Unsurprisingly, the album runs together in one huge, pissed off blur except for the occasional interesting moment of variety.
Anaclasis plows forward with a staggeringly impressive forward motion that though is oftentimes one dimensional and static, manages to uphold an impressive standard of aggression and intensity that some bands will never match. After an ear piercing and somewhat annoying pinched harmonic, Hate unloads their next bombardment on the listener, one of the album’s highlights “Necropolis”. The song brings an early high point of the album but is the perfect intermingling of their newfound industrial background noise with their more crushing, intense parts, all the while showcasing Hate’s knack for injecting strong tension through small doses of simple, but potent melody. Other songs that tread a similar path through sensible doses of melody coupled with the strong rhythmic tendency of polish death metal are other album highlights “Malediction” and “Immortality.” The only truly weak song of the album is “Razorblade” which is not only horribly redundant but also has a pathetic sing-song chorus that loops endlessly on. The vocals of Adam the first sinner, though sufficiently deep and menacing, never really add as much to the music as they follow the same fate as his as well as Hellbeast’s rhythm guitar abilities, stagnant and monotonous. Despite all this, Hellrizer does manage to perform quite impressively behind the kit, pummeling the ever-loving shit out of his drums at every opportunistic moment. The songs by themselves are impressively strong, but as a whole Anaclasis falls short.
Hate’s vicious and almost militaristic approach adds a nice differentiation between their brand of Polish Death metal and others, but they also get caught up in a severe lack of variety and dynamic contrast that other bands in the scene seem to have mastered. Hate suffers the same monotonous, single-minded tendencies that talented bands like Hate Eternal and Blood Red Throne suffer from. Though Anaclasis is a well thought out and enjoyably effective album, the musicianship is basic and unimaginative. Many parts seem to be only slight variations of themselves and the whole album runs together with very little separation or distinction between songs. This isn’t the end all be all to a good album though, as the songs are solid and well structured, but I don’t think Anaclasis manages to make that much of a leap beyond average. In the end, Hate is eclipsed by the talent of other Polish Death metal ala Trauma, Decapitated, Behemoth, Lost Soul, Vader, etc. who have managed to integrate different elements to keep an album interesting from start to finish.
