HateMore – The Pain of Loss
Label: Independent
Release Date: October 6, 2017
Movie director Kevin Smith is famous, among other things, for his always generous reviews of films, even when popular consensus labels a flick a boring dud, barely watchable, or a complete piece of shit. When asked about this, the always affable (and surprisingly wise) Smith said, and I paraphrase, “Making movies is a lot of work. I’ve made a few, mostly kinda bad films, and no matter the final cut, if a movie makes it on to screens in theaters, it’s a fucking miracle.”
The same can be said about albums, and speaking from personal experience – full disclosure, I’ve made three full lengths and an EP, with various bands – any album that makes it from the writing and rehearsal stages to the final mixed and mastered product is also pretty much a miracle.
Listening to the ten tracks that comprise Dutch metalers Hatemore‘s debut, The Pain of Loss, I couldn’t help but feel mostly let down by the final product, while being simultaneously impressed by the obviously professional approach taken to produce it.
In terms of sound, there is a lot to like. The production style very heavily references bands like Alice in Chains, Metallica, and often Marilyn Manson, three bands whose sonic templates have been behind several classic albums and hit songs. The drums and guitars in particular shine brightest, with tight, economical performances, and just enough flash. It’s clear that drummer Tomasz Pietrzak and guitarist Rolf Geerlof are the anchor members of Hatemore. Vocalist/guitarist Robert Soetrbroek possesses a richness in his almost-baritone voice that is surely comprised of one part Dutch accent and one part dark Dutch tobacco. When I first heard his voice, I was vaguely reminded of David Draiman from Disturbed. The pleasant surprise is that Soetrbroek, like Draiman, has a decent range, and beyond his gurning Dutch growl, he layers some very beautiful vocal harmonies in and about many of the songs. At times, the note choices in these stacked lines probably borrow a bit too liberally from the work of Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell from the aforementioned AIC, but they’re skillfully rendered and not overused. Hatemore’s lineup is rounded out by keyboardist Vincent F. Fraenkel and bassist Stijn Donders.
Album opener “I Despise,” an at times upbeat thrasher, sports a great ensemble performance with some unexpected stabs of Hammond organ, which offer a nice shout out to some of hard rock and metal’s pioneering forebears, like Deep Purple and Yes. This track ultimately suffers from a lack of melody, and a plodding, heard-it-so-many-times-before-it-must-public-domain-by-now chorus.
With a name like Hatemore, and an album title like The Pain of Loss, I was not expecting an album of party anthems to which I might bang my head and chug beers, but the overall mood of this record is so excessively dour that it becomes at first a bit absurd, and then ends up plainly tedious. This album is serious. So serious, in fact that it gets lost in its own emotional one note rut much of the time. This is exactly the problem with second track “This is How We Die,” which is the sonic equivalent of that friend from your teenage years who intensely chain smoked, refused to ever have fun, and insisted on reciting his “dark (usually shite) poetry” to you. Soetrbroek’s corny spoken word opening on this track should illustrate perfectly what I mean.
Further into the album, tracks like “The Dream is Dead,” “The Evil Within,” and “The Monster Inside Me” redeem the proceedings somewhat thanks to chunky, thrash style riffing, which though very paint-by-numbers, at least elevate the (again) world weary lyrical subject matter with some much-needed energy. All three of these tracks sport amazing drumming, and quality guitar solos. Some groovy Hammond organ lines even pop up again on “The Monster Inside Me.”
Album closer and title track “The Pain of Loss,” is probably the band’s most evolved track, with some nice tempo changes, memorable riffage, and a greater hint of emotion from Soetrbroek.
It’s altogether too easy to be intensely hard on a band like this. They are after all clearly committed to pursuing a certain sonic aesthetic (on this release, at least), and clearly aren’t concerned about what will or will not produce a catchy, radio friendly hit. Those characteristics deserve respect. That being said, it’s hard to be too easy on a band as obviously talented as this when they: produce a dearth of recycled riffs, scrape the bottom of the overused lyrical motif bucket (death, hate, serial killers, etc.) and provide nearly a complete lack of memorable melodies (or melodies in general).
I wonder at how great this band could be if they went from being merely “inspired by” to actually inspired. Pretty great, probably.