Made of Hate – Bullet In Your Head

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Produced by Made of Hate

Poland’s tradition of cutting edge extreme metal bands continues with the debut from (very) young new outfit Made of Hate, who formed just two short years ago with a strong work ethic which eventually saw them record their debut album in just seven days at Zed And Zed Studios.

Already being hailed as a guitar hero for the future 22-year-old Michal Kostrzynski (also lead vocals) is certainly an incredible player. His immensely fluid, technical but bright lead melodies put a lot of self-described virtuoso players to shame. The power-thrash riffs sound something like an aggressive Hammerfall, or even Trivium, but the songs would have benefited from a vocal approach closer to Mercenary than the slightly-less-intense Witchery sound they’ve gone.

Probably overall the aggressive vocals with technical guitar combination is closer to Trivium’s sound than any others, but galloping rhythms like that of An Eye For An Eye (where the vocals fit slightly better than the title track opener) are definitely as reminiscent of the fast power metal bands as they are of thrashier material.

Some songs work better than others (the awesome double-tracked lines in On The Edge, for example) but after a couple of listens you really find yourself listening primarily to the band’s outstanding playing, the vocals falling into place as a secondary but compellingly necessary sound. Majestic tracks like My Last Breath and Hidden are sheer masterclasses in technical metal song-writing while some of the lead playing (intro to Mirror of Sins, Judgement‘s Celtic-influenced solo) is the most effortless you’ll hear outside of the most accomplished progressive metal bands.

The quality of the metal here is first class, and Kostrzynski’s guitar technique is amazing, but it’s his vocals that will make or break them for any listeners. For me, they’re slightly out of place, where aggressive but clean vocal would be better, but even then the instrumentation and flawless ability of the band takes over. For someone else they might be right on the money. Try before you buy, but if you’re at all interested in quality playing, there’s no better young band around today.

“ outstanding playing ”

Tracklist: Bullet In Your Head / An For An Eye / On The Edge / My Last Breath / Mirror of Sins / Hidden / Judgement / Deadend / Fallout

Written by Andy Lye
More: 2008, Albums, Black Metal, Thrash Metal, Made of Hate