UMUR "Hatesphere" is the self-titled debut full-length studio album by Danish death/thrash metal act Hatesphere. The album was released through Scarlet Records in April 2001. Hatesphere was formed under the Cauterized monicker in 1993, but changed their name to Necrosis the same year. They released three demos under that monicker before changing their name to Hatesphere in 2001.

So it´s safe to say that these five guys aren´t new to the scene or to playing their instruments even though this release is their debut album, and that´s obvious when listening to the album. The musicianship are on a high level on all posts. Lead vocalist Jacob Bredahl delivers aggressive and raw shouting vocals with passion and conviction, while the rhythm section play powerful solid beats and the two guitarists deliver both tremolo picked riffing, more thrashy rhythmic ditto (even a couple of excursions into more groove oriented territory), and a blistering solo here and there too.

Stylistically Hatesphere play a combination of melodic Gothenburg influenced death metal and brutal thrash metal. Think of a mix of early Soilwork and early The Haunted and you´re halfway there. It´s first and foremost about aggression and power though, so the melodic element of the band´s sound is secondary to that, which also means that this is not a melodeath album, even though it bears traits of that genre. The material are generally well written, but also a bit one-dimensional and as a consequnce the tracks can be hard to tell apart even after several listens. So while the music is catchy and powerful while it plays, it´s not anthemic enough in nature to stick beyond that.

The sound production is raw and powerful (credited to Jacob Hansen and Hatesphere). It´s a suiting professional sounding production for the music featured on the album. "Hatesphere" is upon conclusion a both powerful and promising debut album and while there are some issues with the material being slightly one-dimensional, it´s not a major issue in this type of music, and overall it´s still a great album deserving a 3.5 star (70%) rating.

UMUR "New Hell" is the 9th full-length studio album by Danish thrash metal act Hatesphere. The album was released through Massacre Records in November 2015. It´s the successor to "Murderlust" from 2013. Hatesphere was formed in 2001 and can by now rightfully be called veterans of the Danish scene. They are also one of the most consistent and prolific acts on said scene, and have done pretty well for themselves internationally too.

Right from the start they´ve played an aggressive and at times brutal type of thrash metal with the occasionally nod towards melodeath, and they´ve pretty much stuck to their guns ever since. "New Hell" is no different and continues down the same path as it´s predecessors. References to Slayer and especially The Haunted are valid. So stylistically there are no surprises, which in some cases can be an issue, but on "New Hell" the familiarity of the music style isn´t that much of a problem. But it could be argued that the band aren´t spending much time developing their style. But if you enjoy the past releases by Hatesphere, there´s no need to get off the train here.

The material on the 10 track, 40:38 minutes long album is predominantly aggressive and relatively fast-paced thrash metal, but Hatesphere understands the importance of variation, and successfully incorporate both heavy groove laden sections, melodic solos, and a couple of more mellow sections too. The vocals are raw, distorted, and shouting. The type of thrash metal vocals with a "core" edge. The musicianship is generally on a high level and the dynamic playing and convincing delivery of the material is a great asset. The listener is overall treated to a very tight performance.

"New Hell" was recorded at Antfarm Studio in Aarhus, Denmark with producer Tue Madsen, and the sound production is powerful and very well sounding. The perfect match for the music. There´s a good balance between raw power and clarity and details. Upon conclusion "New Hell" is a high quality release by Hatesphere. They may not deliver anything you haven´t heard before, but they do what they so do damn well, that it´s a redeeming factor even if originality is an important element to you. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Murderlust" is the 8th full-length studio album by Danish thrash metal act Hatesphere. The album was released through Massacre Records in September 2013. It´s the successor to "The Great Bludgeoning (2011)" and features the same lineup that recorded the predecessor. There have been quite a few lineup changes throughout the history of the band, so it´s great to see that Hatesphere now appear to have found a stabile lineup.

It would be wrong to state that it has any impact on the level of musicianship on "Murderlust", because Hatesphere have always, in any shape or form, been a very well playing act and continue to be so on this album. These guys have delivered relentlessly aggressive thrash metal with a few nods toward death metal since their inception in 1998 and little has changed. We´re still treated to some well played thrash metal with an aggressive and occasionally semi-growling vocalist in front. Slayer is the main influence here, but the instrumental "In Process", which features layered harmoni guitars will probably have most listeners thinking of eighties Metallica. It´s actually quite the great breather track and it´s placed nicely in the middle of the album. While "Murderlust" features quite a few old school US thrash metal trademarks, it´s predominantly acts like The Haunted and Dew-Scented that they should be associated with.

The sound production is powerful and raw and suits the music well. "Murderlust" is in every way another great album by Hatesphere and while they will never be the most original or distinct sounding act on the scene, they always deliver their music with passion and conviction. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "The Great Bludgeoning" is the 7th full-length studio album by Danish thrash metal act Hatesphere. The album was released through Napalm Records in September 2011. Hatesphere has been through several lineup changes in the past and that trend continues on "The Great Bludgeoning". Most notably lead vocalist Jonathan "Joller" Albrechtsen, who sang on "To the Nines (2009)", has been replaced by new vocalist Esben "Esse" Elnegaard Kjaer Hansen. So Jonathan "Joller" Albrechtsen only lasted one album, after he replaced long time vocalist Jacob Bredahl (who´s last recording with the band was "Serpent Smiles and Killer Eyes (2007)"). The rythm section of drummer Dennis Buhl and bassist Mixen Lindberg have also been replaced for the recording of "The Great Bludgeoning". New drummer is Mike Park Nielsen and new bassist is Jimmy Nedergaard. So basically the only two remaining members from the lineup that recorded "To the Nines (2009)" are guitarists Peter "Pepe" Lyse Hansen and Jakob Nyholm.

Bearing in mind all the lineup changes, it´s actually surprising how little Hatesphere have changed. They still sound unmistakably like Hatesphere. But that´s probably due to the fact that band founder and main composer Peter "Pepe" Lyse Hansen has always stuck to his guns and never panicked because of changing trends. As long as Peter "Pepe" Lyse Hansen is in control of the band, he will probably always make sure to bring crushingly heavy and aggressive thrash metal to the people. However sticking to your guns in this case doesn´t mean the band haven´t developed over the years. There have been little tweaks to the sound and incorporation of new elements, but the basis of the band´s sound has always been brutal thrash metal. That´s also the case on "The Great Bludgeoning" which features several fiercely aggressive, fast-paced and crushingly heavy thrash metal tracks like opening track "The Killer", "Smell of Death" and the title track. The 6 minutes long "Venom" is where the band make a little tweak. Especially the ending of the track which includes keyboards is quite unusual for the band but works really well for them.

"The Great Bludgeoning" is a relatively short album with only 9 tracks distributed over a 36:58 minutes long playing time. "The Wail Of My Threnode" is even a short instrumental interlude, so there are only 8 "real" thrash metal tracks on the album. There´s nothing to worry about though as the quality is high throughout. Powerful and well sounding production, excellent musicianship and for the style varied songwriting are some of the assets of the album. Hatesphere leave no doubt that they are still the kings of Danish thrash metal and fans of brutal thrash metal in the vein of early The Haunted and Dew-Scented should find lots of like here. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is warranted.

UMUR Serpent Smiles and Killer Eyes is the 5th full-length studio album by Danish thrash metal act Hatesphere. Hatesphere is arguably the most prolific Danish thrash metal act and personally I was really fond of their 4th full-length studio album The Sickness Within (2005). Serpent Smiles and Killer Eyes was released in April 2007 by SPV and produced by lead vocalist Jacob Bredahl. Serpent Smiles and Killer Eyes would be Jacob Bredahl´s last album with the band.

The music on Serpent Smiles and Killer Eyes is thrash metal in the contemporary style that bands like The Haunted and Dew-Scented are also known for. Hard hitting and aggressive. The tempo varies between fast- and mid paced. The musicianship is excellent and the production is professional and powerful. All in all a quality product. Songs like Drinking with the King of the Dead and the video track Forever War are great songs but the 9 tracks on the album don´t stand out from each other that much and that´s the flaw of this album. I don´t really remember many of the tracks when I´m done listening to the album. I think The Sickness Within had many more standout tracks.

Serpent Smiles and Killer Eyes is a good thrash metal album by Hatesphere but it lacks memorable moments and ends up sounding a bit too standard to my ears and therefore a 3 - 3.5 star rating is warranted.