Review: “Blessed with Malevolence” by The Hate Project

Returning to the tried, tested and proven, Swedish Deathcore collective The Hate Project entrusted Simone Pietroforte (Distant, ROT, Gassed Up) at Divergent Studios to mixed and master “Blessed with Malevolence“, their debut with new label home Seek And Strike Records (Exist Immortal, Upon A Burning Body, Orbit Culture). Known for bringing raw heaviness and serious groove to the extreme metal scene the Kalmar natives have been nothing short of prolific in recent times, 2021 seeing the release of album “Seize the Obscurity” with EP “From Flesh To Soil” appearing a year later. Both records saw obvious comparisons stylistically to the likes of Bonecarver but with a greater depth and more personal edge than most in their blunt force trauma inducing heaviness…

As a record while not considered a concept release “Blessed with Malevolence” has all the hallmarks of one, depicting the darkest parts of humanity and detailing various bandmembers’ battles with addiction to create a truly harrowing and yet oh so real experience. The narrative picks up from where “From Flesh To Soil” came to its unnatural conclusion however sonically this is a more polished and somehow frighteningly more aggressive mix with Pietroforte giving them the punch of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator.  “Suffer” sets a dark and brooding tone with programming and cinematic edges bleeding into thunderous percussive battery and swathes of chug, a single verse raising the hairs on the back of the neck before the title track “Blessed With Malevolence” comes in swinging. The angular riffs are destructively powerful, the downtempo section with its sinister and menacing synth backdrop nothing short of pure evil. These morbid visions aren’t dark fantasy and the cautionary tale that is “Needle Fanatic” is a stark warning – one mistake can destroy everything you love. Sonically blistering and offering pure catharsis, the intensity of the track isn’t to be underestimated, the bombastic breakdowns causing the tectonic plates beneath the would be listener to rumble. “Confessions Of A Murderer” continues the perpetual forward motion with the kind of destructive force that could terraform a planet, the fierce vocals burning all the hairs in the ear canal and tickling the cerebral cortex before inducing a brain haemorrhage. There are flavours of Humanity’s Last Breath and the kind of crushing guitar tone that Buster Odeholm is able to extract with “Death’s Deal“, a lethal dose of Swedish hatred with a powerhouse blast beat section to hammer home the coffin nails. As brutal as they come, this next chapter from The Hate Project points the way to a dark new dawn [8/10]

Track Listing

1. (Intro) Suffer
2. Blessed With Malevolence
3. Needle Fanatic
4. Confessions Of A Murderer
5. Death’s Deal

“Blessed with Malevolence” by The Hate Project is out 7th July 2023 via Seek & Strike Records