ALBUM REVIEW: Rugia – Hate
Spewed forth from the black depths of Warsaw, few do blackened death metal quite like Poland’s HATE. Rugia is the band’s 12th studio release, the latest chapter in a long and storied career that stretches back to the early 1990s. The album’s title is taken from the archaic name of a German island on the Baltic Sea now called Rügen. It is said that in ancient times, Rügen, or Rugia, was a significant place of worship and holy pilgrimage for the pagan Slavic people, as it was the location for the fabled stronghold of Arkona. This Slavic mysticism penetrates and envelopes Rugia’s core, thrusting you back into those dark and unforgiving times, as well as standing as a tribute to the ancient Slavic tribes and culture.
Building upon the dark foundations laid out in 2019’s Auric Gates Of Veles, Rugia rises from the shrouding mists like a castle fit for Elizabeth Bathory and Vlad the Impaler. A sense of impending doom grips your soul from the outset of the first discordant riff. Utilising a more 2000s era BEHEMOTH-esque black metal approach in the more melodic parts of the album, which is best demonstrated on Resurgence, Rugia captures a esoterically pensive and gloomy tone.
Relating back to its concept, the record sees the band weave tales of the ancient Slavic world. A moment in time of great migrations, wars, battles, and the struggle for survival. Within this sphere of the universally relatable Slavic stories, HATE are also able to address contemporary problems and modern challenges, demonstrating the inextricable connection that we have with all that has come before us. The musical continuation of the Auric Gates Of Veles theme is definitely noticeable in Rugia, yet it does have its own unique and twisted charm. This could be due to the new blood injection provided by the band’s latest recruit, drummer Nar-Sil, as the band’s performance throughout the album sounds significantly more inspired as a result. With the rhythmic section rooted more in death metal, the album harks back to the band’s roots, creating a harsh, unrestrained and surprisingly dynamic album. Accompanying this barrage is a wide selection of discordantly melodic, epic black metal riffs, somewhat reminiscent of those early IMMORTAL albums.
Rugia seems to have two distinct halves, with the second half capturing the essence of the album better than the first. Velesian Guard and its follow up Sun Of Extinction are the strongest tracks on the album, incorporating a vibrant array of atmospheric elements and haunting, epic melody. Capitalising on the album’s concept and harnessing the harrowing, grotesque nature of war to create intense environments, Resurgence offers a blackened death masterclass, while Sacred Dnieper closes out the album with a chaotic, discordant and bludgeoning burst of ferocity.
Even so, it feels like there is something lacking on Rugia. While it doesn’t tread any new ground in terms of blackened death metal, and ensures that the conceptual message is delivered with monstrous death metal violence, the album has a significant absence of melody. Looking back to 2015’s Crusade: Zero and 2017’s Tremendum, the band started to bring an eerie approach to melody while still maintaining the raw and uncompromising death metal principles and sensibilities. As the band lean more towards their roots, it feels their early and mid 2010s era work has been forgotten. As a result, the more atmospheric parts of Rugia come across as if they are an afterthought, confined to a set space and time instead of evolving through the album.
Rugia is an entertaining record, but it fails to really stand out compared to some of the band’s older work. On the other hand the intriguing concept behind the album will hopefully inspire you to look into Slavic history and mythology, as that extra piece of context will give this album a new dynamic when you listen to it. Overall, HATE have delivered a ruthless and uncompromising album with Rugia, but have lost something on the way in aid of achieving their earlier death metal dominance.
Rating: 7/10
Rugia is set for release on October 15th via Metal Blade Records.
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