If one is going to play death metal, the all-in method is one that always is in style. No matter what tags you want to place in front of it, delivering a visceral and assaulting release is bound to net a new band some fans for their induced carnage. It’s a lesson that Canadian act Depths of Hatred have smarted mastered for their Prosthetic Records EP debut.
One could sit there and dissect all of the different things that are going on within Depths of Hatred’s EP, but the best bet is to just make mention of the throttling heaviness. There’s bits of technical material, blackened influences, modern death metal and deathcore for sure, but the way that it all comes together is meant solely to ravage the intended audience. Wisely, there’s a few moments where the band slows things down a bit and plots a bit of atmospheric relief (the title track comes to mind), but cuts like “An Infidel’s Dissent” are righteously unrelenting in tone. The technical ear-candy from time to time does leave an impression though, as does the galloping tempos of a song like “Covenant,” but said track also provides some melodic leads to further entice the listener. All in all, there’s a solid combination of material that Depths of Hatred works with, even if despite the diversity present, it ends up sounding a bit familiar.
Bloodguilt brings forth plenty of chaos for those who want their death metal at its most extreme. While it may cling to the death metal ethos, there’s nothing inherently wrong with that formula either. As this act begins to further expand their boundaries with more material, they are bound to truly rattle some cages.