Monday, February 15, 2016

CD Review: HATEURE Body & Soil (Sound Carpentry Records) by Alan Lisanti

HATEURE
Body & Soil
Sound Carpentry Records
The opening track on this ep is an instrumental that reminds me of bands like Yob, early (Red Album era) Baroness, and even Torche, with its Post Metal leanings and riffing. The bass work is great here and overall the track seems to function as an intro track more or less, even though it clocks in at close to 6 minutes long. What it does is grab your attention, but it's almost as if the point is to lull you into a false sense of security because what happens on the next 2 tracks is nothing short of unsuspected in the best ways possible. The growl and distortion on Reptilian Blues and the gritty full on dirty Blues/Doom approach to the riffing is refreshing and well executed. The song approaches the 12 minute mark, but never gets boring. Instead, it just expands and evolves with the listener and twists and turns along the way without losing the qualities that make it so satisfying. The closer, Koleoptera, picks up where Reptilian Blues leaves off, and pushes things slightly further even. Hateure is on to something here. There is a sense that these songs will appeal to you if you're a fan of Doom or Sludge because they hit all the right sweet spots if that is your thing, but they also show a freshness and originality to their approach to these styles that will leave you wanting to see where they might take things next. Hateure may be only just scratching the surface with this EP as far as their potential, but that only means the future is bright for them and these respective genres. It is easy to rehash things and echo the past within the confines of a genre such as Doom. Too often bands forget to look to the future and where things can go when ideas are pushed forward. Hateure shows a keen understanding of the roots of both Sludge and Doom, but they also prove to be a band that is eager to push ahead and take things further. When you mix the right appreciation for those that came before you with the right hunger to explore and experiment with new ideas, sometimes you get the right ingredients for something special and refreshing. Body & Soil proves this theory. Reptilian Blues and Koleoptera are exhibits A and B. I'm interested to see where Hateure goes from here. Both songs are heavy with plenty of Sludge and Doom, but they also see Hateure push the boundaries of both genres in a way that is unique and very much their own. 8.5 out of 10 -Alan Lisanti

Track list:
1. Body & Soil
2. Reptilian Blues
3. Koleoptera

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