Artist: Hatenoir
Country: Unknown
Label: Altare Productions
Formats: LP
Year: 2026
Earlier this year, Hatenoir released their debut album ‘Blasphemy Of The Souls’, and now, less than a year later, we already have the follow-up in our hands. Admittedly, the music Hatenoir presents to us isn’t overly complex, and this is a one-man band; two factors that make it easier to release music in quick succession. What is therefore most striking is that Altare Productions has now opted for the best possible format: a proper vinyl release, whereas ‘Blasphemy Of The Souls’ had to make do with a cassette tape.
Apart from the format, there is absolutely no sign of any change to the previously chosen formula on ‘Blood’. Aesthetically, ‘Blood’ clearly follows on from ‘Blasphemy Of The Souls’: a photograph of the musician in question holding a candelabra in classic monochrome tones, and thankfully the ugly logo is nowhere to be seen here either. As for the most important thing, the music itself, the approach is also a logical continuation. ‘Blood’ is a 41-minute-long frenzied barrage of old-school 90s Black Metal with a heavy block of concrete on the accelerator.
There is scarcely a moment when the mysterious musician slows the tempo down, but when he does, as on ‘Burning Hatred Like Obscure Lava’, you can hear that there is indeed more to it than meets the eye behind the frenzied pace. The frosty atmosphere and repetitive nature come across as all the more ominous in those sparse, slower passages. However, these are truly rare moments, as it is generally the speed that defines the music.
The raw nature of the production prevents you from thinking too much about Marduk’s 90s records, but it’s hard to imagine that they didn’t provide some inspiration at some point. In my review of ‘Blasphemy Of The Souls’, I already recalled old demo tapes from that same period, the late 90s and early 00s, when the speed and cold atmosphere mentioned earlier were pretty much the norm and terms such as ‘misanthropic Black Metal’ were widely used.
But although Hatenoir is almost certainly an ode to that sort of Black Metal, which, incidentally, is surprisingly rarely played these days, it never sounds dated. The production may well be raw and cold, but it still fits in well with the contemporary Black Metal scene. So whether you still cherish fond memories of a band like Thunderbolt or prefer to listen to what today’s bands in the Raw Black Metal genre have to offer: Hatenoir is a solid act that really has something to offer.
