Band:	Hate
Album:	Solarflesh: A Gospel Of Radiant Divinity
Style:	Death metal
Release date:	January 30, 2013
A review by:	wormdrink414

01. Watchful Eye Of Doom
02. Eternal Might
03. Alchemy Of Blood
04. Timeless Kingdom
05. Festival Of Slaves
06. Sadness Will Last Forever
07. Solarflesh
08. Endless Purity
09. Mesmerized
10. Hatehammer [limited edition bonus]
11. Venom [limited edition bonus]
12. Fall Of All Icons

Even though when I saw Hate open up for Mayhem a year or so ago I thought they were a local Behemoth cover band, and despite the fact that this album here sounds a bit like a collection of tracks cut from Evangelion, Hate deserves some credit. They've been playing generic and derivative sounding shit since, at the latest, 1996 when they released Daemon Qui Fecit Terram. They're not just Behemoth wannabe newbs.

And, fact of the matter, even if they were just Behemoth-worshiping newbs, the stuff they put out doesn't sound bad at all. In fact, it's pretty alright. Solarflesh is more proof of that.

Nothing on this is original sounding, the constant, flat-sounding double kicks are annoying and bland, the vocals are beta-wolf style to Nergal's alpha growls, and the themes and feel of the album are, to say the least, boring and contrived. But there are more than enough tunes and riffs and parts that come together cohesively and evilly on this to bite into and enjoy. There are plenty of straight-up, no bullshit, neck snapping grooves here.

But, some big alases, neverthelesses, yets, howevers and thoughs, this still sounds like a package of Behemoth knock-offs. It's the kind of LP that's made for people who can't get enough of Behemoth's style of blackish death?people who are willing to settle for some off-brand version of Behemoth rather than just keep returning to old Behemoth while waiting for some new Behemoth.

Behemoth. Hate sounds like Behemoth. But that's not that bad of a thing necessarily.