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I’m missing something. The press release says that Amon 418’s Hate Profile: Khaos Hatefile is the 1st installment in a conceptually-linked trilogy. Now, I’m no stranger to ‘high concept’ music, but when the ‘concept’ is so very ‘high’ that I can’t even begin to decipher it, it just plain turns me off. I’m left feeling either stupid or bored. I’m not going to pretend I understand one iota of the themes contained in Amon 418’s Hate Profile: Khaos Hatefile, as outlined in their promo material, and wish you all good luck in deciphering the ideas and concepts that Amon 418 has labored so hard at expressing here. I can only hope the official release (as opposed to the promo copy I received) contains lyrics…
Convoluted thematics aside, musically this record is impressive. The first thing I noticed after ‘Bleeding Black Heart’ kicked in is that there’s more bottom end found here than on most Black Metal releases I’ve heard in the last year, and frankly, it’s refreshing. The bass often carries the songs forward, as in ‘The Darkened Angel’, clearly audible under the metallic sheen of guitar and supporting synth quite nicely. If all Black Metal bands understood the need for the bass guitar in their overall sound, I might actually count myself as a fan of the genre overall.
What’s more, it’s the utter musicality of the entire record that sets this release apart from most Black Metal releases I’ve heard of late. The songs are well-constructed and melodic (though none of the melody is carried in the vocals), and the production is as atmospheric as it is focused. While many Black Metal bands go for that midrange, blizzard-like intensity in both performance and production value, Khaos Hatefile sounds fully fleshed and truly ‘heavy’. Some serious darkened drama erupts here and there; I’m reminded of Enslaved more than once.
The keyboards stay right where they should: just under the surface, providing atmosphere and texture, as well as providing some deliciously subtle intros and outtros. On loan from Ancient and Hortus Animae, Grom’s drum performance is impeccable; tastefully intense and immaculately recorded. The lack of guitar soloing is more than made up for in some well-placed harmony parts and dissonant passages. The vocals are totally indecipherable and cloaked in a roomful of reverb, adding some serious menace and mystery to this very accessible production of some very extreme music.
So musically, I’m impressed. Thematically, I’m lost. But that’s OK; I’m here for the music. I would suggest that the mentally challenged listener, such as myself, jettison the thematic conceit altogether (for the next 2 parts of the trilogy as well) and just listen to some class Black Metal done right.
| Tracklist |
| 1. Prologue: Chapter 0: Demons In Me (Intro To Inferno) |
| 2. Fallen: Chapter 1: Bleeding Black Heart |
| 3. Fallen: Chapter 2: Veils That Blind |
| 4. Fallen: Chapter 3: The Darkened Angel |
| 5. Fallen: Chapter 4: The Day My Feathers Fell |
| 6. The Vision: Chapter 5: 17 Empty Rooms |
| 7. The Vision: Chapter 6.66: The Khaos Hatefile |
| 8. The Vision: Chapter 7: Recall To Nothing |
| 9. The Vision: Chapter 8: Lapse Of Perfection -Pralâya |
: 42.58
| Buy other Hate Profile albums |
