hath

"Accursed," but Stronger Than Ever: Hath's Blackened Death Metal

hath

No matter which track New Jersey quartet Hath might have chosen to premiere with Invisible Oranges today, my take would be the same: Hath have internalized their source material to foundational depths and thus manipulate it with organic familiarity in the creation of a truly seamless work. Throughout Of Rot and Ruin, their upcoming debut album, Hath thrive in the blending of otherwise-discrete genre elements, rejoicing in the inclusive bounty of their boundary-crossing. Check it out with our exclusive premiere of “Accursed” below.

There’s a moment midway through “Accursed” at which Hath pivot like a ricocheting bullet from a charred and surging tremolo sprint into a fleshy breakdown with all the chugs and pinch squeals one would expect from the most devoted of deathcore practitioners, yet in Hath’s deft hands, everything flows as nature intended. Between the ebullience of the album’s guitar solos, the dynamic layering of the occasional clean vocals, or the dexterity with which Hath seed these magnetic bits of melody within the rolling terrain of their songwriting, the band are poised to drop a full-length debut marked by a degree of cohesion and confidence many groups only begin to grasp by albums two or three.

A consistent high point in Of Rot and Ruin is the impeccable performance of drummer AJ Viana, who also handled recording and mixing for the record. His drumming is turbulent and busy as the music demands, while governed at all times by the discipline and control required for clean playing at such demanding levels. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least to see his name included over the coming years in discussions next to Chason Westmoreland and Alan Cassidy as another leader in today’s death metal drumming world. (As an aside, take a breather and enjoy Viana’s cover of Sum 41’s “The Hell Song” with Hath bassist/vocalist Greg Nottis.)

With Of Rot and Ruin, Pennsylvania-based label Willowtip continue their reign over contemporary death metal, adding Hath to their formidable stable alongside Slugdge and Vale of Pnath. What the former represent for exploratory progressive death and the latter channel through their rancorous technical blitz, so too do Hath similarly avail themselves via their cogent nine-track collection of charismatic blackened melodic death metal.

Of Rot and Ruin releases via Willowtip Records on April 12th in vinyl, CD, and digital formats. Pre-order the record on Bandcamp. The band will commemorate the album’s launch as part of a six-band lineup in Philadelphia (poster below) on Friday, April 12th.

hath poster

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