Wednesday, June 9, 2010

The Gates


Hate Forest is an Ukrainian black metal band formed in 1995. This is their fourth EP from 2001, the thing that separates this Hate Forest demo from all of the other Hate Forest releases is the overall ambient focus here in these two recordings. Some people may question my motives for even posting this demo when there are some legendary Hate Forest albums out there that I could have chosen, so I have to say that if I were to recommend an honest Hate Forest album for what they actually sound like then I would have gone with Sorrow. There are reasons for me to post this instead, though, that being the absolute atmospheric void this rarity is able to conjure up without vocals or any frills whatsoever. The album starts off with Where the Flame is Eternal which is entirely an ambient track that includes a rickety old gate being opened to wind, the crackling of fire, a muted synth layer holding down one bass note, and then fading into nothingness. The last track, and the meat and purpose of the album, is as precise as the title describes it, In Cold Empty Darkness. You have a repetitive riff that shortly after appearing falls into union with the programmed double bass of the drum machine, the song simply weaving in and out of this pattern accompanied by the occasional layer of an ethereal sounding keyboard. When this song is tired out it eventually fades into a monotonous single spaced out beat that resembles the beating of a heart and then it's over... I love this.

1. Where the Flame is Eternal
2. In Cold Empty Darkness

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