• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

It's been 15 years since Hate Forest's last album, and I was pretty sure they were gone, but now we get a surprise release of a new album at the tail end of the year, and not only is it a completely worthy follow-up to their past work, but it is a smoldering slab of pure steel. Hate Forest were always melodic, sometimes even being classed as an ambient band because of it, but this is heavy, crushing stuff highlighted by involved melodies and Roman Saenko's deep-throated bellow. If you are a fan of stuff like Forefather, Bornholm, or Darkestrah, then you probably already know this band's work, and if you don't you should definitely check this out, as Hate Forest have unexpectedly come up with one of the year's best Pagan/Black Metal albums.