Artist: Hate Forest
Country: Ukraine
Label: Heidens Hart Records
Formats: LP
Year: 2025
Originally released in 2005 by Supernal Music on CD, ‘Nietzscheism’ has seen no less than seven reissues over the years up till this most recent one on regular vinyl by Heidens Hart Records. If we exclude the mini box set with the songs spread across four 7″ EP’s released by Darker Than Black in 2019, then the last proper vinyl release of this compilation was back in 2009 by Primitive Reaction on a double LP. So, ‘Nietzscheism’ making its reappearance once again, at least on this format, is definitely welcome.
Compared to the previous re-releases, this version omits the first track (‘Carl Orff – Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi’) and goes straight to the main part of what this compilation has to offer. Which basically is four previously released 7” EP’s, here presented in a seemingly random order: ‘Resistance’ (Ledo Takas Records, 2004), ‘Darkness’ (Miriquidi Productions, 2000), ‘Blood And Fire’ (Sombre Records, 2001) and finally ‘Ritual’ (Miriquidi Productions, 2002).
A “seemingly” random order, because while the individual EP’s have been released in a different order in time, this is quite easily a much better way of listening to them in succession. Starting with what might arguably is Hate Forest’s best EP, ‘Resistance’ is perhaps the best decision here, those two tracks are as hard hitting as anything the band has ever produced. That archetypical propulsive drive in combination with those rabid, barking vocals is what made Hate Forest such a unique musical experience: a Black Metal band with sharp-edged riffs, combined with Death Metal’s productional aesthetics and vocals. This is also largely what ‘Darkness’ and ‘Blood And Fire’ bring to the table, but especially ‘Blood And Fire’ already offers a way more sophisticated and balanced sound that leaves more room for that pagan melodicism, reminiscent of what Roman Saenko has been doing in Drudkh. The last two tracks are a bit of a tougher pill to swallow, the combination of Martial/Ambient music with field recordings for sure isn’t everybody’s cup of tea. Still the inclusion of ‘Ritual’ makes ‘Nietzscheism’ a complete musical document from the earlier days Hate Forest.
Many of these older EP’s are hard to find or at least will cost you a good few bucks, so when you’re not much into record hunting (or paying too much), picking this LP up is a very attractive alternative. So, this is a release that suits not completists and collectors, but also supplies a much easier way to listen to these songs compared to constantly flipping 7”s. And if you’ve only recently gotten into the latest few Osmose Productions releases, this is a fantastic way to hear how Hate Forest has become that rolling rage machine, here even rougher but more than recognisable.
