Brood of Hatred - The Golden Age

Angry Metal Guy

Tunisian one-man band Brood of Hatred caught my attention during my early days on Bandcamp, luring me into mastermind Muhammed Mêlki’s twisted brand of progressive post-death metal with Skinless Agony. He apparently released a second album, Identity Disorder, so quietly that I completely missed it until just a few days prior to writing this. Catching up on what I missed gave me a clearer picture of how Brood of Hatred developed over the last eight years leading up to his latest outing, entitled The Golden Age. The question remains whether that development created a brighter, more enlightened Brood of Hatred or a dulled, tarnished husk of untapped potential.

In the beginning, Brood of Hatred‘s style of progressive death metal possessed a straightforward, riff-focused attitude bridging the gap between Zealotry‘s zany sharpness and Usurpress‘ somber heft. Over time, mastermind Muhammed Mêlki strayed from the path of the humble riff and embraced the undulating mists of post-metal and dissonance, morphing into an Ulcerate/Latitudes/Be’lakor hybrid. Identity Disorder, the first installment written within Brood of Hatred‘s current aesthetic, proved to be a deeply emotional affair, supported by churning atmospheres and stealthy melodies. Four years later, The Golden Age doubles down, almost entirely abandoning traditional death metal attributes and instead structuring songs with trem-picked whirlwinds backed by deep roars and restless percussion, resulting in a record that is simultaneously introspective and unsettling.

The Golden Age by Brood Of Hatred

If there’s one thing to praise about The Golden Age, it’s the drumming (or the drum programming—the promo credits are unclear as to which applies). Charismatic, relentless and turbulent, Muhammed’s composition and performance stands out and elevates every moment without fail (“Self-Destruction” is a particular highlight). Time after time, percussive assaults resolve critical moments where a meaty riff would normally forge the way forward, shifting between blast beats and double bass runs and all manner of gnarled patterns in between (“Genesis” and “The Mask of Death”). Meanwhile, the vocals roar and tear through lyrics, steeped in anguish without sounding so unchecked that they distract from the material (“Uncertainty”). The pacing of these vocals, and of the instrumentation as a whole, complements the rhythmic rush of the drums such that The Golden Age moves briskly through its tight thirty-five minute runtime.

Unfortunately, I spend that short runtime wandering aimlessly amongst a fog of atmospheric guitar work which fails to make any significant contribution to The Golden Age. While competently performed, every phrase and passage bleed into one another, forming an amorphous film of distortion in the background that, sadly, flattens the atmosphere. Most of the album’s songs construct themselves inside an uncannily similar mold as well, which creates a frustrating scenario where transitions between tracks and movements go unnoticed. Additionally, the songwriting lacks the dynamics required not only to develop character in each song, but also to embed a lasting memory of the overall album experience in my mind. “God over Demons” and “The Uncarved Block” are especially problematic as the album’s bookends (excluding the instrumental closer), each making a weak argument for my initial interest in the album and for revisiting it, respectively. The result is an empty, trance-like trip that leaves me wanting desperately for sensation and substance.

We’ve seen this kind of thing happen before, where a band one of us regards favorably changes their approach and, in turn, incurs a corresponding audience shift. Unfortunately for me, Brood of Hatred moved away from their early sound, which offered sharpness and intrigue in equal measure, in the pursuit of something more cerebral and abstract that doesn’t hold my interest. There are still elements to their sound that I enjoy, namely Muhammed’s feral percussion and expressive vocals. With more defined transitions and greater songwriting dynamics, though, The Golden Age could’ve been a force regardless of style. Alas, it made no such mark, leaving me to wonder if Brood of Hatred‘s golden age has already passed—or, perhaps, it has yet to come.

Rating: 2.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 192 kbps mp3
Label: Gruesome Records
Websites: facebook.com/BroodOfHatred.Official | broodofhatred.bandcamp.com
Releases Worldwide: February 25th, 2022

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