Released By : Violent Journey Records
Genre : Groove Metal
Links : http://hatetrend.com/
Tracklist:
01. Free Yourself
02. Breakneck
03. Borrowed Time
04. The Chemical Me
05. Violated
06. Ice Cold
07. This Is The Suffering
08. Disciple
09. Introducing Me
10. Weak
Hmm.. A bit of a mixed bag this one really, but still a worthy seek-out for fans of modern groove metal. VIOLATED is the first full length album from Finnish groove metal act HATETREND after a bunch of self-released demos over the last few years. As far as groove metal goes the album is pretty good in most places but falls a little flat on the odd occasion which really stopped me from getting right into it. The band take obvious inspiration from PANTERA, MACHINE HEAD, modern day TESTAMENT and FEAR FACTORY, but unfortunately a few songs sound as though they are patched together from random riffs and passages rather than being fully cohesive in themselves.
When the band hit the groove, the album kicks some real ass and would have even the most persistent mosher feel the need to jump back in the pit, but when the band try and add some slow passages or melodic choruses it all falls down a little bit and the cracks begin to show. Opening track FRE YOURSELF is a great example as the verses have ea real PANTERA mixed with MUDVAYNE feel to them, but in the chorus vocalist Markus Mutta attempts to sing nicely and melodically but it just plain doesn’t work. There are other sections on the album where he does the same thing, but most of the time it doesn’t really stick out as a problem, but it is really noticeable on this track and that’s a worrying way to start an album. The mega-groovy BORROWED TIME, the FEAR FACTORY-esque THE CHEMICAL ME and the full-on aggressive DISCIPLE all work their hardest to rectify the error of the opening track and luckily these few tunes are good enough to save it from falling apart.
Less fussy groove metal will find much to like here, especially due to the fact that releases in the genre are quite scarce these days, but in order for HATETREND to really capture some global attention there’s still a little bit of work left to do. The basis is there and the songwriting skills of the band show some great potential but I would suggest getting a few people from different sides of the globe to give each tune a listen next time so as to avoid the little pitfalls that really hold this one back.
Written By ZeeZee
Rating : 7/10
About Author
