Once formed as a temporary side-project, Blake ‘Azentrius’ Judd’s Hate Meditation was supposed to be a tribute outlet to bands like Blasphemy, Von, Profanatica and Beherit. There was a three-track demo in the first half of last decennium, but then things went silent.
Last year, however, Blake (also known from e.g. Krieg, Twilight, Drug Honkey, Ezurate, Helms Deep and, of course, Nachtmystium), decided to reform this project, and he started writing and recording the debut. He did, besides the writing process, perform all guitars and vocals, and the keyboards and bass parts. He worked with some session musicians, amongst whom Jef ‘Wrest’ Whitehead, the guy behind Krieg and Twilight, both projects Wrest and Azentrius worked together with; he’s also the one behind the great act Leviathan and Lurker Of Chalice, and he did perform with Azentrius’ main band Nachtmystium. The drums were done by Vitandus-member Sam ‘Destroyer’ Shroyer, and additional synths by Job ‘Phenex’ Bos of Beliar, Shadows Towards My Sky and Dood-fame.
Scars has a total running time of forty seven minutes. It opens with the short intro Prelude To Apocalypse, which stands for a floating and apocalyptic Ambient-piece. With The Deceiver And The Believer, the first ‘real’ track, Hate Meditation show their sharp teeth, ready to attack and not to let go. It’s primal, it’s feral, it is an essential expression of bestiality from the Underworld. This is the kind of raw yet melodic Underground Black Metal that defines both the Nordic and the USBM-scene. The material is less noisy than the origins (read: not the kind of Chaos the initial influences were known for; see above) and rather dwelling in the same spheres as early Darkthrone, Emperor, Bathory, Burzum, Twilight, Xasthur, Leviathan, and of course Nachtmystium and the likes.
A warning be made, however. The sound is beneath acceptation. This is ‘underground’ all right, but what a bad mix! In several tracks you nearly hear the drum patterns, then again the guitars sounds as if they had been performed on a plain high in the sky, while the recording material was left on the soil… And the synths, what about them? Sometimes they clearly present, and that’s nice for giving the whole a touch of grim-atmospheric obscurity, but sometimes you can only guess they must be there somewhere. It really is a pity, because such a great material needs an unpolished sound, but not an inferior one. A shame!
With a slightly more professionalised sound, this release could have come close to a maximum score. Unfortunately I have to temper my passion for this kind of Aural Excellence…