Review by Felix on June 6, 2023.

Once a wise guy told me that he is not fan of a specific band, but of certain albums. This simple sentence caused me some serious mental pain, because on the one hand, I was convinced that metal fans have to stay loyal to their favorites. On the other hand, I was thinking of "Reign In Blood" and "Diabolus In Musica' or "Defenders Of The Faith' and "Turbo". Apostate, to use the English translation of the album title, made me think of this statement again, because its beginning is not very promising, although the debut of Hate Manifesto had a very thrilling touch.

Apostate does not show a new direction. Hate Manifesto did not readjust their approach and so we get the elements we already know from For Those Who Glorified Death. This means we are confronted with an overdose of musical brutality, death metal growls, low-tuned guitars and a horrifying, very dense overall sound. (The prodction is much heavier than that of the debut.) Additionally, we get some solos, but honestly speaking, they go down the drain. From my point of view, it does not make much sense to fire some dissonant guitar tones into the imaginary crowd if they have absolutely no connection to the main parts of the track. 'Purging The Seeds Of Pestilence', naturally a storm of the most violent type, shows the real strength of the Greek duo. Sharp, menacing riffing in the foreground, massacre-like noise in the background and the king of hell pukes out his lyrics. This song is not overshadowed by the high quality of the equally brute 'Poison Infliction', the first track that really gets me by the collar. I breathe a sigh of relief; Apostate is not Hate Manifesto’s “Force Of Habit”, although both intro and first regular track do not achieve the highest laurels.

Occasionally, one would like to wish Hate Manifesto to close their valves even for a short time. But as it is, their oversized hatred pours incessantly on the listener. This is okay, but two problems occur. Firstly, some parts remain flat and mechanized. They do not trigger a lot of emotions. Secondly, the band is at risk to get lost in its own blind rage. To experience the mega-heavy yet controlled beginning of 'Chains Of The Oppressor Pt II' is almost a recovery measure, but it goes without saying that Hate Manifesto quickly switch into hyper-speed sections again.

The inferno ends after 36 minutes and either I'm deaf now or there just hasn't been a sound in my flat since the record ended. It can happen that there are two weeks of absolute silence, right? However, sometimes Hate Manifesto sound like Napalm Death minus pig squeals, sometimes they appear like the most representative band for the Iron Bonehead mail order which is specialized on black/death metal butcheries. Both alternatives are not that bad and therefore Apostate is definitely not the band’s “Calm Before The Storm”. Admittedly, it also cannot be seen as Hate Manifesto’s “At War With Satan” – but if we understand it as their “Temples Of Ice”, we do the album justice even though its cover aesthetics, reminiscent of the 1930s, are irritating.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Review by Felix on November 20, 2022.

When some robotic, mechanised black metal pours out of the speakers and a malevolent gnome spreads sinister wisdom (or what he thinks is), there's a good chance it's a British band, released by Purity Through Fire. Frosten, Nefarious Dusk, Úlfarr… yes, it is true that the Norwegians were the first that made their national scene to a big playground of incest, but now the Empire strikes back. No sex please, I’m British – this was yesterday! Here comes the next murderous legion called Helvellyn. And I admit: it’s fun to make some stupid jokes about these bands who sound pretty similar, but they also deliver reliably good music. The Lore Of The Cloaked Assembly marks no exception.

Okay, the intro seems to be stolen from the archives of the clown who puts himself to shame by calling himself Rock'n Rolf. But Running Wild disappear pretty soon. Viscous guitar lines get the upper hand and the lead singer doesn’t sing, but he screams, nags and cries in order to underline the dark vibes of the music. Due to the not very organic production, the album almost delivers an industrial undertone, but that’s not bad at all. It may be surprising, but it fits the approach of the five-piece.

Equipped with an adequate, pretty good artwork, The Lore Of The Cloaked Assembly puts the focus on homogeneity. All of its eight songs came from the same, stinking womb. They do not significantly differ from each other, neither in terms of style, nor with regard to their quality level. Hellvelyn have enough talent to keep their kind of song-writing interesting and fresh. 'Never Ending Moonlit Spires', the longest track, scores with its stirring guitar work right from the beginning while sending some greetings to (old) Mayhem or lesser known bands like Germany’s Eternity. This is just one example – it goes without saying that I could mention more songs here. Nevertheless, I appreciate the fact very much that here exactly the longest track is no lukewarm composition or even a total flop. Why? Well, the album clocks in at 38 minutes. This is no opulent playtime, but gross equals net here and so I see no reason to moan concerning quality.

The constant lava flow of the guitars creates an opaque atmosphere. Doing without surprising twists and turns is part of the concept and Helvellyn are obviously not interested in making compromises. One can say they walk at the border to monotony, but the authentic misanthropy and the unbreakable density of their material makes up for this. And by the way, this band is not the first enemy of innovation and it will not be the last. Just like true evil itself, black metal has already a lot of different faces and forms and there is no need to add a further one. It makes much more sense to pen an output that shows the glorious shape of the unspoiled subgenre. This is what Hellvelyn have done here and they did it in a very competent manner. The rampant closer takes the listener on the final 'Unholy Voyage' with its whiplashing drums, the icy guitars and the insane screams and as soon as its last tones have faded, every supporter of generic black metal will be satisfied.

Rating: 7.8 out of 10