Hatesphere - Bloodred Hatred
Scarlet Records
Thrash Metal
9 songs (31'54)
Release year: 2002
Hatesphere, Scarlet Records
Reviewed by Crims

This is the second release from Denmark’s Hatesphere, and despite not reaching their song writing potential (at least in my mind), they have still put together an enjoyable Thrash Metal release, in the style of At The Gates and early Soilwork.

After a gun blast sound effect ushers in the first real track, Believer, you pretty much know what you’re getting with Hatesphere… or do you? With most Thrash releases, whether it be straight thrash, or the more melodic Gothenburg styled Thrash, you pretty much know what you’re getting in regards to influences and song style- not with Hatesphere though. Through the course of the remaining songs we hear such interesting aspects as Arch Enemy styled lead work, Devin Townsend like clean vocals, Hatebreed styled dirges, and Soilwork like keyboards on certain passages. These influences only show up every now and then which makes me think this was an experimental release to help Hatesphere decide what they would do next time around. Although at its heart, the music is still classic At The Gates styled Thrash.

Bloodred Hatred is full of different rhythms and song styles as well. We have the aggressive tracks such as Plague and Insanity Arise, and then more structured tracks full of change ups and melodic breaks such as Believer and Deeper and Deeper. The variation in the song writing is a welcome aspect as it’s easy to distinguish between each track. The vocals from Jacob Bredahl are interesting. Bredhahl’s main style is the often-used Thrash scream that can be grating at times, but overall is still well done as he moves between hate and anguish seamlessly. Moreover, Bredhal also mixes it up with the aforementioned clean vocals and deeper growls every now and then. The rest of the band is very talented, with both Ziggy and Peter Lyse Hansen showing heavy Michael Amott influences on guitar. And of course, one cannot forget to mention Morten Toft Hansen, who is a monster behind the drum set, but I get the impression he is holding back for some reason.

All in all this is a very promising second release from Hatesphere. There is still a lot of room to improve and grow though, mostly because of the obvious talent of each member. The songs really could have benefited from more double bass at the appropriate times and this release would have been even more enjoyable if certain influences were explored more thoroughly. The song writing isn’t always as tight as it should be, but that is probably because the band seemed unsure of what direction they wanted to take, i.e.: do we want to be a hate filled Thrash band, or a melodic aggressive band, and so forth. I recommend this release to fans of early Scandinavian Thrash with a more modern twist.

Killing Songs :
Believer, Hell Is Here, Disbeliever, Low Life Vendetta, Kicking Ahead
Crims quoted 82 / 100
Other albums by Hatesphere that we have reviewed:
Hatesphere - To the Nines reviewed by Thomas and quoted 49 / 100
Hatesphere - Serpent Smiles And Killer Eyes reviewed by Dylan and quoted 62 / 100
Hatesphere - The Killing EP reviewed by Alex and quoted no quote
Hatesphere - Ballet of the Brute reviewed by Jay and quoted 75 / 100
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