Band: Burning Hatred (The Netherlands) Album: Unleased (EP, 2011) Genre: Old-school Death Metal Sniff a smelly armpit and scratch your sack. Have a sip from the dead beer you’re still holding in your hand. It’s time to rise and fuckin’ shine people. Smash play on your stereo and bust that hangover with a shot of cheap scotch and burb. Louder please. If that’s what a typical morning looks like for you, I’ll bet you’ll like Burning Hatred too.

Why so stereotypical? Well, because quite frankly my fellow Dutchmen from Burning Hatred are what you’d call the stereotypical Death Metal outfit. Couple of unfit, longhaired guys that are just a bit too old for their trade. Got stuck in time twenty years ago, judging by their fashion statement, and it’s probably the last time they saw a barbershop from the inside too. Or a razorblade. Except the drummer maybe. Drummers are the only band members that ever grow up and have kids. Two daughters probably and they pull dad a little more down into reality. It’s brilliant such stereotypes actually exist.

Why? Because it allows all those other Metalheads who’ve left their head in 1992 to stay right where they are. It’s also fantastic that these chaps can be themselves without caring a hairy rat’s arse about what anyone else thinks. It’s why I love Metal! Anyfuck, Burning Hatred isn’t even that old a band; they started in 2002, did a couple of demos and shit and then had a massive exodus of members. Four out of five members took off, leaving only guitarist Martin to pull the cart. Didn’t take long before he found himself four new band members though, and they quickly set out to do an EP, titled Unleashed, which was released in early 2011. Let’s review!

Unleashed contains six songs of absolutely zero-frails old-school Death Metal. There really isn’t anything else I need to say (so the rest of this review is filler material, really). The band deals in hope-depraved riffs without much complexity or anything that could go for sophistication. The whole is complemented with some low-end buzz and a mid-pace drum section with the mandatory bass drum thunder. Nothing special. It doesn’t try to be.

But the fact of the matter is that Unleashed grooves well. It’s very headbangable and that’s the whole purpose. It’s that slow-but-steady type of headbanging. No need to go completely mental, just up and down a bit. Gets better when you up the volume too. In short, the strong point here is simplicity.

If I’m honest, though, this type of Metal isn’t usually my cup of tea, but there isn’t anything wrong with Unleashed. If you ask me, Burning Hatred’s material isn’t really stuff that comes across best at home or on CD at all. This is stuff you need to see live, with a beer in your hand and another fifteen already in your gut. It will have so much more power then. You know, a bit like this, small-scale, intimate and in-your-fuckin’-face.

‘Nuf said!

My Grade: 7.0/10
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Tags: death, Dutch, old-school, review

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