• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

Hate has been at it for nearly 30 years already and Auric Gates of Veles shows that the band still has what it takes and shows no sign of slowing down. There are so many black/death bands these days that it's hard to release an album that stands apart and most of the time we have to value good songwriting and execution over originality. This album is essentially one of those, and that's perfectly fine. It's mostly fast from beginning to end with very little room left to catch your breath, basically what you'd expect from a black/death album. Where Auric Gates of Veles distinguishes itself a little is in the atmosphere, a mix of brutality and malevolence tied together with an omnipresent doomy, somewhat depressing feeling. Again, not the most original thing out there, but it all flows well together and is filler-free. I'll take that any day of the week.