Hateful Abandon - Famine (or Into the Bellies of Worms)

Artist: Hateful Abandon
Title: Famine (or Into the Bellies of Worms)
Country: United Kingdom
Catalogue number: TTR 026
Released: 02 December 2008
Format: CD
Running time: 27:54

1. Rats Whisper Murder
2. Diamond Spine (MP3)
3. Riding the Blade
4. Avalanche
5. Boiling Seas
6. Painters Rope
7. Lungs

(29 votes, average: 4.86 out of 5)

 Loading ...

Description

Reviews

Once in a blue moon, you discover new and unique bands that are able to give you goosebums.
Hateful Abandon is definitly one of them! I came across them on Myspace, because their coverart instantly appealed to me. I usually have a hunch for this, and luckily I was right. This is a band of great quality.
Even though their logo looks pretty old school black metal-ish, they’re not a black metal act.
After doing a bit of research, I found out they once were a black metalband called Abandon.
And after listening to their old material, I’m pretty sure all the changes are for the better. Hateful Abandon is promoted as ‘total artistic freedom’. Mixing genres, doing exactly what they want – not being tied to any rules.
This is a genious mix of post-punk, dark pop and ambient, meeting old school black metal. And it’s impossible to define them into a genre. They float between the fragile and the majestic in their dreamscapes. It sounds epic, yet minimalistic. Their sampling fits their sound, not being overwhelming. The vocals goes from whispering to cries of pain and deep clean vocals which manages to add a really dark and depressive atmosphere. The opening of ‘Ride the blade’ makes me close my eyes, and just enjoy. I love the contrasts between the pop-ish music and the rasping black metal vocals. But I’m sorry to say; in my opinion they probably used their weakest track (‘Lungs’) to make a video.
I’m convinced these guys are up&coming, and they will probably appeal to the black metal aristocrats and others who appreciate quality.
Beat the Blizzard

This is a rather obscure but rewarding debut from Hateful Abandon. Evoking the bleak fog of the UK, this duo play sparse post-punk melancholy with a blackened metal edge. Mournful bellows, accompanied by sinister, wraith-like snarls, open a space where the cold bass lines of Joy Division meet the raspy gloom of Altar of Plagues.
While the dual vocals initially seem melodramatic and odd, they come to complement the fluid guitar riffs as they twist their menacing way. Slower songs like “Riding the Blade” and “Avalanche” roll on with apocalyptic grandeur, with plodding percussion and eerie post-rock jangles creating dark spaces for the band to explore. Hateful Abandon are at their best towards the album’s conclusion, as they throw off their shadowy art-rock decorum and launch into energetic (but none the less oppressive) bursts of post-punk. “Painters Rope” and “Lungs” are understated masterpieces, with sinewy bass lines reminiscent of “Shadowplay” and other dark classics from Unknown Pleasures.
While Hateful Abandon are clearly disciples of the English post-punk tradition, they inject enough of a cold, black metal atmosphere to create a distinct and moody sound. Through the careful use of space, an exchange of vocal styles and muscular muscianship, Hateful Abandon walk a dark mile to the coast, blurring the horizon line.
The Rock Blogger, 4.5 stars

Schwarze-News.de (english translation)