Search - Anata :: Infernal Depths of Hatred

BEST DEATH METAL IN YEARS!

RxxktheVote | maryland | 10/10/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When all else in the extreme metal world has been said and done, when every band is simply a Morbid Angel or Internal Bleeding jr., when the slew of gothenburg clones seems never ending, here comes Anata with one of the finest death metal albums in recent history. Sadly, "The Infernal Depths of Hatred" will be overlooked by most metalheads, but hopefully someone will stumble across this review and give them a spinAnata play a style that is undeniably death metal in nature, but completely unlike any other band's style and thoroughly unique. They use melody, but avoid cliche'd In Flames harmonies, opting for beautiful yet crushing twin guitar leads that are as catchy as they are complex. Ah, yes, another factor in Anata's sound: they write memorable riffs. Despite being more brutal than a truck full of fetuses colliding with a giant razorblade, Anata's songs stick to you. There is no filler... each track holds it's own.The vocals are growled and there are no pitiful attempts at clean singing. Another awesome trait is the basswork... simply stunning bass interludes that are hypnotically melodic. Instead of following the guitars, Anata's bassist strays into his own territory while still complimenting the music.I could go on like this for a few pages worth of text, but hey, don't believe me... check this incredible band out for yourself. 5 pentagrams of doom"

One of the best melodic death metal albums, ever!

Mr. Brian Williams | Ireland | 07/28/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First of all, let me elaborate on the term "melodic death metal". I do not mean "Gothenburg" bands, but more accurately, Death Metal that contains some melody. Now that we've got that out of the way...



Anata is one of those rare bands that hasn't yet written a bad song. While most people are only familiar with their third album, "Under A Stone With No Inscription", I'm here to tell you that this album is every bit as worthy of praise.



"Released When You Are Dead" opens the album in a deceptive manner, as it is easily the most brutal song on the album. It is still quality though, with a massive slow riff in the middle. From here the songs become more melodic, with vocalist/guitarist/main man Fredrik Shalin alternating between growled and screamed vocals.



The third song, "Under Azure Skies", deserves a paragraph of its own. This, my friends, is one of the best metal songs I've ever heard, period. Battery. Angel Of Death. Davidian. Heartwork. Blinded By Fear. Under Azure Skies. It deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as these classics. Beginning with slow, chugging riffs, it is after the first verse that it kicks into high gear, harmonies running rampant. But then the song breaks down into a bass-led melody, with Schalin at first almost speaking the lyrics, then screaming over the soft music. I'm butchering the description, but it's really a powerful piece. The song picks up again with more heart-wrenching harmonies, screams and pounding drums. Simply godly.



I could go on and on about this wonderful album, but I won't. Instead, I'll just leave you to check out some of the music, and then maybe you'll buy it. Recommended like a rest after a hard day's work.

"

Their weakest album, but still a keeper!

United Abominations | 05/12/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"ANATA - THE INFERNAL DEPTHS OF HATRED



Anata have quickly become my favorite band. They are the defying hand in the face of the critics of my favorite metal genre-technical/progressive death metal, and have quickly become pioneers of the modern tech-death scene along with bands like Necrophagist, Psycroptic, and Spawn of Possession. Their first album, the Infernal Depths of Hatred, is actually a bit different in style than what would come after it. The band started off describing themselves as "Morbid Angel meets At The Gates", and while I can't say that the albums after this follow that style, this one does, as it blends Morbid Angel's brutal fury with early ATG's dark melody. While every album after this would have them playing technical death metal with a bit of melody, this album is more of a melodic death metal album with a technical edge. By melodic death, though, I'm not talking about In Flames, Dark Tranquility, Arch Enemy, and bands like that. I'm talking about melodic death metal that's predominately death metal. While the melodic elements are toned down some in favor of more technicality, brutality, and prog elements on subsequent releases, this is easily Anata's most melodic and experimental album. As far as vocals go, while vocalist/guitarist Fredrik Schalin's unique growls still runs the show here, this album has more vocal presence from guitarist/backing vocalist Andreas Allenmark than any of their other albums. While his vocals are toned down on the rest of their albums, he seems more like a second singer on this album, intertwining his screams with Fredrik's ferocious growls. The guitarwork is my favorite aspect of Anata's sound, and their debut show them forming their signature sound. The riffs, while still being complex, aren't as technical or as creative as what they would come up with later. There's more tremolo riffing and clean guitar melodies than on later albums as well. As far as solos go, that's where this albums slips up a bit. Anata really know how to play some great solos, but this skill isn't shown until their sophomore album. Here, the leadwork mainly sticks to Fredrik and Andreas playing twin melodies and harmonies. As far as actual soloing, there are only a few solos on the whole album, and all of them are your average atonal death metal solos. However, those lead melodies are very memorable and emotional, which is a plus. The drumming is also great. While Robert Petersson would be outdone by Conny Petersson later on, he still does a good job here, with just enough blasting to maintain brutality but never overdoing it. Bassist Henrik Drake even shines in a couple of spots on this release, even getting in a lead(!) on one track.



The album opens up with "Released When You Are Dead", which is a nice, furious start to the album. Dizzying riffage and insane drumming propel this song forward, with a two, quick solos near the beginning. At 2:20 the tempo shifts to a more midpaced groove similar to Morbid Angel's slower parts. Near the end, the speed kicks back in, tossing out another solo. "Let The Heavens Hate" shows the first sign of melody on the whole album, with some complex guitar harmonies flowing through the entire song, as these emotional melodies intertwine with furious blasting. Being their most experimental album, there are a couple of surprises thrown in. "Under Azure Skies", in contrast to the previous two songs, begins at a rather slow pace, building up to a catchy, mid-paced tune, picking up in speed at about 1:20 with some blasting and some technical harmonies. Henrik throws in a nice little bass solo about two minutes in, with some subtle guitar harmonies in the melodic section, with some melodic tremolo picking carrying the rest of the song, with the subtle harmonies coming back in. "Slain Upon His Altar" begins with a classical-style clean guitar melody that gives the song an almost fantasy-like sound to it. This is easily the most melodic song on the album, as this melody carries itself into the riffing, with some nice double-bass work near the beginning. Another classical clean melody comes in at around 1:50 that sounds almost folk-ish. "Dethrone the Hypocrites" starts out with some melodic tremolo riffing and blasting, sounding almost black metal. It switches gear into a more mid-paced section with some angular yet melodic riffing. There's a nice little galloping section in the middle of the song, gradually building up speed. The album's epic, "Those Who Lick The Wounds of Christ", starts off quietly before taking on a more mid-paced tune that sounds like a more technical Amon Amarth. The song tosses in some awkward grooves, with some more unique riffing with the tempo change, shifting back to the Amon Amarth-esqe sound. My personal highlight for the album, however, is the amazing "Vast Lands/Infernal Gates". Some nice drumming propels the song forward, stopping for a brief second, before picking up again. The melodic break at about 0:50 is one of the most emotional moments I've heard in a death metal album. I'd like to see any of the modern In Flames clones create something like that. It speeds up again for a blazing solo before dropping back into that epic break again. At 3:50 the song speeds up yet again with some mind boggling riffing as they go through the epic break again, only at full speed. The album closer, "Aim Not at the Kingdom High", is opened with a little drum solo before some catchy yet complex riffing makes its way into the song, with the fastest blasting on the entire album popping up. Nice drumming on this track.



Overall, this is my least favorite Anata album, but it's by no means a bad album. It is rather different from their other albums, so if you're new to the band, you might want to get "Under a Stone with No Inscription" or "The Conductor's Departure" first. However, fans of the band should not be disappointed with what they get here, and the experimentation definitely makes it stand out.



DO I RECOMMEND: Of Course!

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