Maximum Metal Rating Legend

The Project Hate - Armageddon March Eternal (Symphonies of Slit Wrists) - 2005 - Threeman Recordings

Track Listing1. At the Entrance to Hell's Unholy Fire 2. The Bleeding Eyes of a Breeding Whore 3. I See Nothing but Flesh 4. Resurrected for Massive Torture 5. We Couldn't be Further From the Truce 6. Godslaughtering Murder Machine 7. Symphony of the Deceived 8. Loveless, Godless, Flawless

A band name that includes the word ‘Hate’. A band logo that includes a pentagram. A reference to suicide in their album’s title. Semi-high-register female vocal parts dealing with Satanic fantasies of the flesh. Techno breaks. Megalomaniacal lyrics. Sampling. Yes, it appears as though The Project Hate’s new album ‘Armageddon March Eternal (Symphonies of Slit Wrists)’ has broken every border that keeps Heavy Metal music from crossing the line from the realm of healthy melodrama to that of an absurd travesty.

Yet, for all these trespasses, The Project Hate still manages to provide a solid album that remains moderately interesting throughout its 65-minute duration.

Lord K, the band’s leader and main songwriter, utilizes the blunderbuss method on this record: shooting a wide variety of styles and sounds at the target of success in hopes that enough will hit to make this album worthwhile. And, though sometimes lessened by unsteady passages from Jonna Enckell and entire minutes of music lacking focus, ‘Armageddon…’ still will capture enough attention to be considered a success. And rightly so—this album includes a thick, meaty cut of well-produced, well-played, and blasphemous death metal that could have been more than good, had Lord K. spent a little more time in the editing room.

With a backing crew including former Entombed, Grave, and Evergrey members, not to mention more than a dozen guests, ‘Armageddon…’ is an extremely weighty album, made even more so by the mid-tempo marches of its dependably fuzzed guitars, and a bass that lumbers up from the mixing to stir the surface waters, when appropriate Drums appear to be programmed, but do a solid enough job to be added to the ‘pro’ column of this album rather than the ‘con’.

Ultimately, though, this album does not follow through. Nearly every track is longer than 8 minutes, and each attempt for an epic atmosphere. This requires an enormous amount of musical acumen and momentum to pull off, and as yet The Project Hate just do not heft that much clout. Some songs such as ‘At The Entrance to Hell’s Unholy Fire’, despite the overly garish names, are serious forays into the death metal battlefield, cutting right to the quick in a businesslike, powerful manner, growling confidently that, “Once again, we bring Armageddon”. Unfortunately, as the album continues it becomes apparent that this tone cannot be sustained. Piano interludes and gentle instrumentation are more than welcome in an hour-plus death metal experience and The Project Hate provides a bushel of them, but they often stray from both the musical and figurative groove laid down at the song’s beginning, resulting in little more than background noise instead of the brutal battle anthem that it should be.

Hopefully this line-up will be a reliable one, though, and if Lord K. chokes up on his battle-axe for The Project Hate’s next release, shortens some of his tracks, shelves the more childish of his lyrical efforts, and invests in a few voice lessons for Enckell, this band will rebalance itself as a quality contender.




--Etiam 06.04.06