There are ferocious black metal bands that always go for the jugular, and there are black metal bands that call themselves symphonic black metal and go for a balance of aggression and melody -- relatively accessible bands that unite black metal elements with an obvious appreciation of melodic old-school headbangers like
Ronnie James Dio,
Iron Maiden,
Judas Priest, and
Queensrÿche. And in some cases, symphonic black metal bands have even been known to incorporate elements of progressive rock and acknowledge such artists as
Rush,
Yes,
Pink Floyd, King Crimson, and
Emerson, Lake & Palmer. So where does
Hate Profile fit in?
Opus, Vol. 1: The Khaos Hatefile (which is the first part of a conceptual trilogy of albums) is definitely not symphonic black metal; this 2005 release is much nastier, much rougher, much more confrontational and abrasive than all the European discs being described as symphonic black metal. But it isn't one of those all-ferocity-all-the-time CDs either.
Hate Profile often goes for the jugular, but they don't go for the jugular 100 percent of the time. Rather,
Opus, Vol. 1 favors a blend of jagged, dissonant bombast and moody, dark, cold atmospherics. Make no mistake: much of this disc is flat-out sensory assault, but the brooding, atmospheric sections provide some moments of relief from all the head-kicking bombast. And these two sides of
Hate Profile -- the bone-crushing side and the gloomy side -- complement one another. This is, for the most part, a well executed album -- and even though
Opus, Vol. 1: The Khaos Hatefile is slightly inconsistent, there are more ups than downs on
Hate Profile's noteworthy black metal release. ~ Alex Henderson