This is the début album from Lebanese Black Metal band Hatecrowned.
This is an album that finds its origins in Old-School Raw Black Metal. The band take this base though and expand upon it, introducing some darker Death Metal influences and atmosphere.
Bleak melodies and leads occasionally break the Blackened surface, but for the most part this is an album that’s swamped in atmospheric distortion from the rhythm guitars. It’s like a fuzzed-up wall of grim auras, ready and willing to crush, smother and consume all in its path. There are also solos, which I approve of big-style.
This methodology works well for the band, and the songs on Newborn Serpent are compelling hymns to hatred and malevolence. The dark Death Metal elements are combined skilfully into the even darker Black Metal core of the band, resulting in songs that just seethe misanthropy.
Screamed vocals are complemented by deeper growls, providing the songs with enough tools to spread their sinister manifesto.
I like that the band don’t stick to just one way of writing throughout; there’s a good amount of variety here for the style. Some songs are pure Black Metal, while others let the Death Metal seep in. Some songs are all about the bile and venom, while others have more atmosphere or pacing. Fast/slow, long/short; the band don’t limit themselves to just one method of assault and should be roundly commended for this.
Very good, very good indeed. Hatecrowned have impressed.
Wonderbox Metal 