Style: Blackened Progressive Death Metal (mixed vocals)
Review by: Zach
Country: US-PA
Release date: 4 March 2022
When you think of the two words “emotional support”, one of the last things that comes to mind is death metal. And yet, I will be the first to tell you that the genre houses most of my emotional support albums. Rivers of Nihil’s masterpiece, Where Owls Know My Name, takes the top spot of “album I’ve cried to the most” because it’s overarching theme of loneliness resonated with me at the time of its release. Dessiderium’s Aria is a recent acquisition to the tearjerker list, and Still Life has been there…well, forever. But Hath’s debut, Of Rot and Ruin, provides me with a different kind of comfort.
Of Rot and Ruin is one angry album. Any track makes me feel like I can charge a tank and live. That first riff hits with the force of a thousand suns and the album just keeps that energy consistent. Yet, with all its rage, Rot still has plenty of eloquent, melodic sensibilities that it isn’t afraid to shy away from. Hath took a clearly Opethian formula and added a dash of Slugdge for good measure, resulting in not the most original sound, but a refined one. A band that clearly knew what made their influences great and weren’t afraid to tout it.
Here we are 3 years later and Hath are at it again. The buzzsaw guitars and thundering bass are still there. Vocalist Frank Albanese sounds more vicious than ever, but this is a different Hath than I saw on their debut. This is a more atmospheric Hath, with precedence focused on creating something dripping with dread rather than riffs. ‘The Million Violations’ being the opener and singles ‘Kenosis’ and ‘Lithopaedic’ seemed to promise something closer to Rot, but the rest of the album sounds quite different.
There’s the welcome addition of keyboards, for one. They aren’t at all prominent in the songs, and most of the time are there to reinforce the already desolate (in the best way) atmosphere. In the same way Dvne added synths on their second record, they feel natural and blend perfectly with the songs they’re featured on. But the sound That Was Promised becomes featured on ‘Iosis’ most heavily. The band cranks up that Opethian influence to eleven, with a dash of dissonance for good measure, and a breakdown you can bang your head to.
‘Decollation’ is the standout song for me. The frantic, insane drumming at the beginning leading way to Albanese and bassist Greg Nottis’s harmony between harsh and clean vocals. Such a simple riff drives the song, but it’s so effective when it changes into that beautiful flourish comes in just before the 3-minute mark.
But it’s the back half where this album truly shines the most. ‘Death Complex’ and ‘Casting Of The Self’ perfect the balance of riffs and atmosphere. It feels like at this point, Hath truly grew into this new sound they’ve toyed with during the first half of the album. That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy the first half, the songs far overshadow a good 75% of the prog-death genre. But I feel that Hath were still experiencing some growing pains. And that’s alright. Because boy do the last five songs are absolutely deadly.
Most albums lose me by the last two songs. It’s at this point where I usually turn it off and listen to something else. But all I was anticipating during ‘All That Was Promised’ was the riff that was promised after that sweet buildup. And it fucking hits. The last two songs are so explosive that I didn’t even care that the album didn’t hook me immediately.
So what that the album didn’t start as explosively as I wanted it to? Honestly, I’d rather have an album end on a high note than fizzle out near the middle like so many do. And with All That Was Promised, it’s just a steep incline up. Did it fill me with the same comfort of pure, unfiltered rage that Of Rot and Ruin did? No. But did it fill me with hope for Hath’s brighter than the sun future? Yep.
Recommended tracks: Decollation, Death Complex, Casting of The Self, All That Was Promised
Recommended for fans of: Opeth, Slugdge, Abiotic, Sulphur Aeon
You may also like: Hands of Despair, Warforged, Stargazer
Final verdict: 8/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page
Label: Willowtip – Bandcamp | Website | Facebook
Hath is:
– Frank Albanese (Guitars, vocals, lyrics)
– Peter Brown (Guitars)
– Greg Nottis (Bass, vocals)
– AJ Viana (Drums, engineering, mixing)
