Hath – All That Was Promised
Release Date: 4th March 2022
Label: Willowtip Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Progressive Blackened Death Metal
FFO: Black Crown Initiate, Belphegor, Immolation, Hypocrisy.
Review By: Rick Farley
You put the word Progressive in front of Black or Death Metal, and chances are I could like it. Giving sinister or sorrowful atmosphere to angry heavy music can sometimes be remarkable. Evoking a poignant feeling while still be incredibly punishing is an amalgamation of two different intensities and often not easily accomplished. Hailing from New Jersey, Hath released their critically acclaimed debut full length album Of Rot and Ruin in 2019 and are now set to release the very important sophomore release on Willowtip Records, All That Was Promised.
The overall complexity on this album is astounding. Not in a tech way, but the song structures are so textured and diverse. The production is fantastic, but there’s a rawness to the songs that give it a menacing realness. Living and breathing waves of ferocity and darkness are ever present and relentlessly threatening. Hanging overhead like a monster storm about to unleash its fury. The intricacies of the blackened riffs are what give the album its bleak atmosphere. Vocalist/Guitarist Frank Albanese and guitarist Peter Brown create moments of quiet acoustics, finessed solos, twisting tremolo picking and vicious bulldozing riffs sharply careening to hellish blackened malevolence. It’s dark and crushing, but with a fluidity that allows the songs to breathe. The riffs and drums have a striking dynamic, often complimenting each other and other times cleverly creating separate moods that can be the opposite of what the other is doing. Incredible synergy and individuality within complex structures is part of what makes All That Was Promised so brutally special. The drums sound effortless but are extremely technical, and the guitars are loose, crushing and precise when needed. Impressive bass work from Greg Nottis keeps the album sounding deep and heavy as hell.
Just touching on a couple tracks, Lithopaedic is a nasty piece of Blackened Death. Without getting overly wordy, if you take Immolation, Morbid Angel and Emperor and smash them together, that’s the vibe you’re getting from this song. It’s brutal and dark as fuck. It rips and tears, blasting with heavy chugging guitars transitioning to fast tremolo picking, back and forth between styles and moods aggressively. The drums on this track shine, creating the space needed for the riffs or just flat out pummelling everything in sight. The beastly snarls and guttural lows take this track to hell and back. This track sounds evil and is a brutal piece of songwriting. Casting of the Self starts off with an acoustic passage that sets the upcoming melody and mood for the heavier and darker, distorted chords that ring out. A metallic sounding string pattern resonates continuously over. The last distorted chord sustains, bringing lightly picked single string notes while accenting with loosely strummed chords. The level of intensity changes again, straight for a tight chugging riff that becomes the verse. Each new level conveys the mood set by the previous melodies, but takes it forward in extremeness. A raging fire, it’s atmospheric sounding in parts and bludgeoning and fierce in others. Touching on Black Metal ambiance with sharp tight riffs and hyper intense blasting drums from AJ Viana. There’s a cleaner sung passage towards the end that’s reminiscent of Black Crown Initiate that gives the song a deeper melodic component. All nine tracks embody a cohesive undercurrent of bleakness while gnashing and clawing from the darkness like a vicious beast.
Lyrically, this time around Hath is taking a more personal and introspective take, touching on enduring change, promises kept and promises broken. The vocals are relentlessly brutal and at times tranquil, which creates even more balance within the wickedness.
Hath unleashes their unremitting violent brand with vigour and ease. Progressive elements heighten the bands sonic hellish enormity. At times dissonant, atonal and tense, the album is focused on punishing with well written songs that maintain a brutal foundation. It’s cohesiveness within the albums fifty-two minutes of modern Progressive, Blackened Death Metal landscape displays its majesty. Also, on a side note, the album has one of the coolest covers I’ve seen in a while, very OSDM looking. If Of Rot and Ruin was Hath showing their teeth, All That Was Promised is the band ripping you apart. Neck breaking brilliance.
(4.5 / 5)
