Spawned in El Salvador in 2002 by Jorge Montesino (of local thrashers Disorder), Conceived by hate are a death-infused thrash band whose calling card is unremitting hostility. Montesino alongside Carlos Basagoitia and Rene Vega, set about building the band’s fan-base dealing with the usual line-up changes that any developing band experiences along the way. Released by Satanath Records in concert with Morbid Skull Records and Deathgasm Records, ‘Death and beyond’ is a thrillingly unpleasant rampage that recalls the bitter horror of Autopsy and the like with its guttural vocals, killer riffs and grinding solos digging into the grimy underbelly of thrash.
From the off, conceived by hate are on a misanthropic mission for the forces of darkness. The sulphurous riff of ‘Crossroad of fire’ immediately sets the blood pounding through the veins and you can rest assured that the band are in no concillatory mood as they rattle through the nine songs that make up the album. Pure, old school death metal, ‘this is underground’ recalls the similarly antagonistic work of Darkthrone on ‘F.O.A.D’ whilst ‘chaos upon us’ is aptly titled, the band indulging in the titular chaos as it sounds like a riot has erupted in your bedroom. Not for the faint of heart, this is brutal, adrenalin charged Metal (with a capital M) and it’s easy to imagine a sea of denim jackets with a Conceived by Hate patch sew on every one such is the potency of the music on offer. Keeping things brutally minimalist, ‘The underdog’ is practically an anthem for every metaller everywhere who has ever felt like an outsider. Ferocious and defiant, I may play this on a permanent loop so that it can serve as a personal theme tune wherever I go, it’s that awesome. ‘We choose who suffers’ concludes the first half of the album, and f*** me if it’s not even better than that which has gone before. Only half way in and already this is shaping up to be an essential release for death metal fans.
The second half of the album kicks off with ‘worship the old ways’, a blistering track that digs into the punk-encrusted heart of thrash. With a scything riff and full-pelt drums, it leaves the listener battered and bruised, but have no fear for ‘below the pale sky’ offers a brief respite with its shimmering intro only for the blazing riffs to return with a vengeance, made all the heavier for their brief absence from the fray. Primitive in the extreme, ‘summoning the graves’ indulges in an Autopsy vibe, the band peeling out deathly riffs with mordant glee. Fast, furious and unrepentant, it sees the album into the end zone on a high. The album ends with its epic length title track. ‘Death and beyond’, at seven minutes in length, offers plenty of space in which the band can stretch out and indulge in a variety of riffs and tempos, just to mix things up a bit. Doomy in places, ferociously fast in others, if you wanted one song to sum up the glory of Conceived by hate, then ‘death and beyond’ would be that song. It ends an already damned good album on a stupendous high and it’s hard to pick out a single weak spot in this gloriously brutal collection of songs.
Drawing inspiration from the likes of Slayer, Darkthrone, Kreator and Autopsy, Conceived by Hate deliver the goods with untrammelled violence. Short, sharp and devastating, this album rules. It’s as simple as that. 10-666 / 10
