By: Anders

Posted: Oct 10, 2005

The Danish thrashers in HateSphere are now ready with their first full length album on their new label SPV, after the teaser "The Killing EP", which was released earlier this year. The band is still ferocious and hungry, the 11 tracks on this album are energetic and delivered with tons of hard hitting power.

The first thing that stands clear, is that the band has moved a bit away from the heavy death metal sound and the inspirations they had on the last full length album "Ballet Of The Brute". This record is more thrashy and hardcore inspired, a good and punishing crossover, though there are still a nice deal of death metal present on the album. The guitar work is blistering, brutal riffs, which forces the listener to headbang, there are good leads and solos on the album as well. And as a special feature, a guitar solo delivered by Steve Smyth (Nevermore/ex-Testament) on the Testament sounding 'Marked By Darkness', a really good thrashing track.

The boys in the band have penned down some good and captivating tunes, there are many good and brutal ear catching hooks, memorable riffs and swirling melodies as a nice mean of variation. The vocals from Bredahl are as always straight in your face, he is screaming with his lungs' full power, and you can't avoid his messages, and when he stops singing, the remains of the vocals echoes for a while, a powerful performance from him. From the entire band, not to be unfair, the music is delivered with sheer energy and is tight when needed and more laid back at other times, like in the track 'Reaper Of Life'. The production on this album is also good, there is a lot of power behind the instruments, and they are well placed in the mix, with the vocals on top. Even when there is most action, it is easy to pick out the sounds and details, always nice with a good production with a raw and forceful edge.

With this album, the Danes should mark themselves among the elite of this breed of thrashy death, this album takes the band a step further, and what’s next? It must be tough to top something like this, but I'm sure HateSphere can handle it. Now it's just to await their live dates and see them create havoc on the stages around Europe, the place they showcase their music best. Run down to your dealer and give this album a spin, though bring your wallet, because you are going to bring the album home.

Rating: 9/10

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