This is the story of one of the most well-known bands of the Polish death metal scene. How Adam Buszko leads the way since 1990 through the Polish dark forests of metal.
In the Beginning…
HATE’s history started in Warsaw, Poland, in 1990 when guitarist and vocalist Adam The First Sinner met guitarist Qack and drummer Mittloff. The band lineup has changed often over the years and currently consists of ATF Sinner, lead guitar Dominik “Domin” Prykiel and drummer Paweł Jaroszewicz. HATE has been praised by press and fans alike for years for “creating lacerating and dark music”, and it’s one of the most recognizable names in the Polish blackened death metal scene. They often inspire themselves in the dark aspects of the mystic and arcane to explore themes both personal and impersonal. HATE provides an entirely visceral flavour to their music with some atmosphere and melodies to give it a more memorable and flavourful vibe. As with many bands over the world, during their first years (namely between 1990 and 1995) the band recorded three demo tapes: Aborrence (1992), Evil Art (1994) and Unwritten Law (1995) showing early on some of the angriest and most ruthless death metal unleashed upon the world. 1996 saw HATE sign their first-ever record contract with the small underground label, Novum Vox Mortiis, which released their first two albums, “Daemon Qui Fecit Terram” (1996) and “Lord Is Avenger” (1997) in Poland.
MEMBERS OF HATE (2020):
- Adam “ATF Sinner” Buszko – vocals, rhythm guitar (1990–present)
- Paweł “Pavulon” Jaroszewicz – drums (2014–present)
- Dominik “Domin” Prykiel – lead guitar (2015–present)
FIRST SHOT OUTSIDE POLAND
After numerous lineup changes and releasing records available solely in their native Poland, the band landed on the radar of American label Dwell Records, who included HATE’s cover version of “Postmortem” on the compilation “Gateways to Hell: Tribute to Slayer (Vol. 2)”. Following this first big break, HATE signed their first international record deal with the American label “WW3/Mercenary Music” and in 2000 they released a compilation of the band’s early albums “Lord Is Avenger” and “Victims” named “Holy Dead Trinity”.
EPS:
- Victims, 1999
COMPILATION ALBUMS:
- Evil Decade of Hate, 2000
- Holy Dead Trinity, 2001
2001 saw the release of HATE’s next album, “Cain’s Way”, on WW3/Mercenary Music in the US, and on Blackend Records in Europe. By the time of the European release, the band underwent another significant lineup change, with guitarist Ralph and drummer Mittloff replaced by Kaos and Hellrizer. “…’Cain’s Way’ shows a band as technical and crushing as Deicide at their best, maybe even more so. Hate utilize straight-forward double kick drumming and blast beats, but what really makes it interesting, is that they use syncopated rhythms. Riffage is mostly intense and thick, with lead guitars screeching.” – ArchaicMetallurgy A year later, the band signed a contract with French-based label – Listenable, and released their next, highly acclaimed album “Awakening of the Liar” (2004), which is still considered as one of the best Polish death metal records of all time. The album was also a poll winner in Polish magazine Thrash’Em All. In the same year HATE released an official DVD named “The Litanies of Satan”. Distributed by Metal Mind Productions, the DVD was an instant hit in the metal press universally. “…a good example of how a death metal DVD should be done, with a number of different camera angles – granted nowhere near as many as the larger more well-financed bands choose to use – thick enough sound to convey how heavy it is but without clouding the sound too much.” – Encyclopaedia Metallum, 2004
VIDEO ALBUMS:
- Litanies of Satan, 2004
A NEW SOUND
In that period the band’s style gained some new attributes – industrial and ambient elements appeared in the background of the main riffs. “Anaclasis – A Haunting Gospel of Malice & Hatred” (2005) showed this new sound for the first time, at this point introducing the conventional demise of metal yet with an astute mix of death, dark and overwhelming metal with particular modern impacts. The album received positive reviews from music critics, with Blabbermouth writing that the music “is indicative of a band that has formed an identity.” “Anaclasis” got extraordinary reviews in pretty much every metal magazine across Europe and was exceptionally acclaimed as one of the most imaginative records of the genre. To top this up, HATE went on their first significant European tour with Carpathian Forest and Keep of Kalessin and showed up on a couple of well-known festivals like Party.San Open Air and Winter Assault. The band entered Hertz Studio in August 2007 to record their 6th full-length record, “Morphosis”, which was released by Listenable Records. The album once again got positive reviews from music critics and the band went on a new European tour, this time accompanied by their countrymen Decapitated. This new phase showed another step on the band’s style with particular notes in the creation and production part. HATE got then offers from various festivals like Metalcamp, Neurotic Death Fest, Brutal Assault, Screamfest, Summer Breeze O.A., Metal Heads’ Mission and from then on, the sky was the limit for the band. In May 2008, HATE shot their first official video for the tune “Threnody”, which was shot in an actual coal mineshaft in Silesia/Poland.
“…Morphosis is a huge chunk of mid-paced death metal with real atmosphere and talent at work. The guitars are exactly half of the important instrumentation here: they provide solid, classic death metal riffs endlessly, and both Adam the First Sinner and Destroyer (the two guitarists) are capable of playing their instrument to very high levels, as they sometimes show with some remarkable solos.” – Encyclopaedia Metallum, 2010 The year 2010 saw a further development of the band and an intensive tour schedule. Their next album was entitled “Erebos” and was supported by tours in Europe and America in the company of groups such as Hypocrisy, Sepultura, Rotting Christ and Mayhem. The band also visited Brazil, Mexico and Russia, which reached as far east as Siberia. Coming back home, HATE shot their second official title video for the title theme Erebos. In 2012, Napalm Records, the Austrian label, provided the group with a new record deal. The album titled ” Solarflesh – A Gospel of Radiant Divinity” was released under the new flag at the beginning of 2013 and received a lot of praise from the press and further recognition for the band around the world. The band played a European tour with Hypocrisy in March / April 2013 and released the video for Alchemy of Blood
OVERCOMING TRAGEDY
But no great band can live on without some degree of tragedy and HATE is no exception. Early in the morning of 6 April 2013, HATE’s bassist Slawek “Mortifier” Archangielskij died in his sleep near Munchberg, Germany. He was discovered lifeless by other band members in the morning. The ambulance was immediately called in and Slawek was resuscitated but to no avail. The autopsy revealed that cardiac arrhythmia was the cause of death. The devastating and unforeseen passage of Mortifer was a tough blow and the continuation of the band was at issue for a while. Nevertheless, after a few weeks, the musicians declared their return. In June 2013 HATE took part in Hellfest Festival in France, after getting Mortifer’s wife Aleksandra on bass guitar. The band played with a session bass-player a series of European Summer Festivals and declared that they were working on a new record. In March 2014 HATE went on a European tour again, this time with Norway’s Kampfar, and in June they enter Hertz Studio in Poland to start recording the 9-th full-length album with release pegged for late this year through Napalm Records. HATE’s “Crvsade:Zero” was the ninth album and followed the same path of “Anaclasis”. Many bands that have been on stage for some time have been a subject of much discussion about whether they adapt their sound, whether they evolve, and whether or not they can. There were obviously few changes as the album followed a personal tragedy, with that amazing eerie atmosphere thanks to the sounds in the background which just enhance the material, nevertheless, the audience should not detract from excellent work of guitar and percussion.
ENTER THE SLAVONIC FOLKLORE
In 2017 with “Tremendum”, they took the step of making a darker, black metal-oriented style more atmospherical, starting their exploration of Slavonic mysticism and “Auric Gates Of Veles” continues confidently along this route. ATF Sinner stated: “We also wanted to record a sharper and better-defined rhythm section; a more death metal-oriented one. When it comes to guitar sound, it was meant to be a wall of sonic destruction with dark ambient elements in the background.” It is an understatement to suggest that they accomplish what they are trying to deliver. Auric Gates Of Veles is a gargantuan album, which sounds more organic and fluid than anything that the band previously released. From the ominous rumble that ushers in album opener “Seventh Manvantara” giving way to a windstorm of guitars and the rampant thrashing and wide-open spaces of “The Volga’s Veins,” to the sinister and tragic sounds of “Salve Ignis,” and the raw black metal of closing hymn “Generation Sulphur,” Auric Gates Of Vele proves its diversity in spades. “…unquestionably the strongest album in the band’s already-extensive discography. If HATE continue their trajectory of cataclysmic growth, then the quality of their twelfth album will be utterly terrifying.” — Distorted Sound
ALBUMS:
- Deamon Qui Fecit Terram, 1996
- Lord is Avenger, 1998
- Cain’s Way, 2001
- Awakening of the Liar, 2003
- Anaclasis – A Haunting Gospel of Malice & Hatred, 2005
- Morphosis, 2008
- Erebos, 2010
- Solarflesh – A Gospel of Radiant Divinity, 2013
- Crvsade:Zero, 2015
- Tremendum, 2017
- Auric Gates of Veles, 2019