Solarflesh

Three years after Erebos and one high profile Leukemia cure later and Poland is once again the place to be for flourishing Death Metal bands. As mentioned before in my catalogue of reviews, Poland is the Vatican of Death Metal right now. Even the hallowed Thunderbolt, who have been disbanded for over five years grace many players worldwide. 2013 is expecting new material, or at least studio time put in for Behemoth, thanks to modern medicine, while legends’ Vader are expecting another release. Poland never left, despite Adam Nergal Darski’s brush with death and the end of Thunderbolt. The first band from the nation to send their blasphemous cacophony to the states in 2013 is Hate. The aptly titled band were one of the last of the major Polish Death Metal acts to find its way into my now 300+ cd collection. I started early, listening to what I could on Youtube. I have a long way to go, but after possessing Erebos and getting everything I hoped out of it, I knew Solarflesh would give me that same rush. The easiest comparison to make here is that of their fellow countrymen Behemoth. The vocals on both Erebos and their latest, sounds much like Nergal. Whereas the band members of each might be equally talented, the latter perform off of pure precision, where the former prefers frenetic insanity and a Blackened type cacophony to create such a brutal atmosphere. Hate lack that Black Metal tinge, going for straight Death Metal. The booklet shows the Latin phrase “Igni Natura Renovatur Integra.” This can be abbreviated to the INRI from the Biblical scripts so often mocked in Metal. However, “igni” meaning to ignite or of the flame, shows what this album is conceptualized around. The translation is “All Nature will be Renewed by Fire.”

The album is centered around the alchemical adage that fire is a purifying agent. In many ways, the fires of Earth are a means of cleansing, it’s just not good to have your home in the way. I am digressing, however. After a strange three minutes of introduction, we have one of the finest tracks on the album and a terrific beginning at that. The track is known as Eternal Might. I must say, that when drummer Hexen joined Hate before the recording of Morphosis, the band truly picked up speed to international notoriety. I am working backwards here, only possessing their latest two in Erebos and Solarflesh. Hexen may not be too well known, but he has the aforementioned precise blast beats, and a bursting, loud, and magnificently fast bass drum that makes the band that much more entertaining. He has the ability to go from 0-100 in no time, while his conversions between riffs and pace is outstanding. This first song does not disappoint. It nears seven minutes in length, never growing stagnant. The aforementioned drum progression is terrific, while the vocals and guitars know exactly when and how long to shine. Towards the end of the track, this “gospel of divine illumination” is properly set forth in motion.

The track has the perfect amount of atmosphere to carry through in great form, while there is also the opportune moment in which the musicians of the band dazzle before Alchemy ov Blood. This one rocks. More increasingly fast double bass, blasts for every speed demon, crawling, skittering riffs to set the tone, and vocals to cover the “hate” in the bands’ tone. There are riffs here that could have a Black Metal feel to them, but overall there is a succinct Death Metal vibe to everything Hate plays. Sadness will Last Forever is a terrific change of pace. It seems as if every great Death Metal album has that one slower track that’s there just to trip things up but never be a track that anyone remembers. Rarely if ever (see From Skin to Liquid ) does that slower song stick. After an intro with numerous riffs and changes, I was going to be pissed if this one followed the formula of slow-garbage-filler- just-to-sate-fans-and-break-up-monotony. This one really does not suck at all. It is seven minutes and change but I had no reservations upon hearing the early stages of what now I consider one of the finest pieces on the album. It fits everything perfectly. I love it. This, like any other moderately paced track on a Death Metal album is merely a break from more artillery. Solarflesh cements Hate as a band on the radar. These oft disrespected Poles deserve more than chagrin at their so-called desire to clone Behemoth. If one makes a simple gaze at their timelines, Hate came to be the same year as Behemoth, while the latter were attempting pure Black Metal. This is not about a purported formula, nor is it even about recognition as a nation that is churning out ingot after ingot of Death Metal infamy. This is about Hate, and their solidification as one of the top acts in a crowded nation of genre mastery. For fans of Death Metal, or anything fast and violent, Solarflesh brings a lot to the table.