Hate: Behold Thy Pagan Soul

The last decade has been one of evolution and metamorphosis for Polish blackened death metal veterans HATE. From 2013’s criminally underrated masterpiece Solarflesh: A Gospel of Radiant Divinity frontman and creative driving force Adam ‘ATF Sinner’ Buszko was left to rebuild the band from nothing following the tragic passing of bassist Sławomir ‘Mortifer’ Kusterka. And so began the transformation. Crvsade:Zero was a charming, if somewhat rushed, follow up to Solarflesh… while 2017’s Tremendum offered an enticing taste of what was to come from Buszko and co. It was 2019’s Auric Gates of Veles that was the real game-changer, though. Here, HATE largely abandoned the Satanic, misanthropic themes that made up the bulk of their back catalogue and dove headfirst into a lyrical exploration of the history and mythology of the ancient Slavic peoples. Both musically and lyrically Auric Gates of Veles was arguably HATE’s best work to date, and two years on their newest offering, Rugia, looks set to see the Poles go from strength to brutalising strength with the addition of young drummer Daniel ‘Nar-Sil’ Rutkowski behind the kit following the departure of long-term sticks-man Paweł ‘Pavulon’ Jaroszewicz. 

“I think I wanted to go back to the roots of HATE, back to the death metal of the 90s, and Nar-Sil offered a good excuse with all his technique and skills. He is very much into the music of the 90s himself, despite being a young guy his parents are metalheads and he has been well educated!” Buszko comments, reflecting on the shift to a more traditional death metal sound for Rugia and the addition of Nar-Sil to the line up. “He was a good choice [to replace Pavulon] because he is so young, but he understands the previous generations of death metal thanks to his parents. When he told his mother he was joining HATE, she opened a drawer and took out a cassette tape of our second demo from 1994 [Evil Art]!” 

From even the first listen of Rugia, the sonic shift in HATE’s arsenal is apparent. There’s nothing too drastic there; those who have enjoyed their most recent works will find little to begrudge, but throughout there is a stronger sense of urgency. Where Auric Gates of Veles almost perfectly walked the middle-ground between black and death metal, Rugia is a far more bludgeoning affair, black metal influences and elements enhancing the sound rather than demanding a starring role.

Musically, Buszko is stronger than ever in his writing for HATE. But as with Auric Gates of Veles, it is the lyrical content that really sets the Poles aside from their contemporaries. Delving once more into the mythologies and the history of the Ancient Slavs, Buszko has continued his research, offering more universal insights of his chosen topic of expertise alongside the specific storytelling of this unknown time and these unknown gods. 

“This has been a huge source of inspiration to me since Tremendum. Every mythology is a collection of stories, beliefs and rituals, and they can be very universal, still very true to life and to human nature even today. I use this as a frame to kind meaning and to tell stories – Rugia is a step further in this direction.” Buszko reflects on his ever-evolving, ever-fascinating lyricism, before telling the story of the island of Rugia, perhaps unsurprisingly a key area of influence for the record. “Rugia is an archaic name of the German island of Rugen, in the Baltic Sea. It was a very important religious hub for the Western Slavic tribes, it was the last bastion of Western Slavic paganism. The famous temple of Arkona was located in Rugia – now it’s a huge archaeological site, they’ve discovered over a dozen temples there… I have plans to visit myself, it seems to be a very magical place even after 1000 years.”

There are messages to be found in Rugia that we can all relate to, however. Despite the mystical Slavonic roots of Buszko’s lyricism, the album isn’t exclusively about ancient battles and odes to dead Gods; there’s lyrics here just as relevant to the world today. “Sun of Extinction is probably the first environmentalist HATE song! It’s about the respect we should have for nature, we are a part of nature, we literally come from it and are a part of it. The archaic Slavic cultures knew this, and worshipped nature. Many of the Slavic deities are deifications of natural elements, and according to many of their myths we are children of those Gods. Not created by them, they are our ancestors so we come from nature. We should respect and worship nature, because what is great in nature is also what is great within ourselves. There are still things we can learn from these archaic beliefs, and these days it’s even more important because we are destroying this planet day by day.” 

So what’s next for the Polish wrecking crew? Their last five records have all come like clockwork in two year cycles – coming off the back of eighteen months of lockdowns, cancelled tours and a general drought of live music, are HATE sitting on a backlog of material and set to hit the ground running on preparation for their next brutalising exploration of Slavonic mysticism? Or is Buszko and co. keen to get back on the road and tour in support of both Rugia and Auric Gates of Veles, the latter album’s touring cycle yet another sufferer of COVID induced cancelations? 

“We are 100% focussed on Rugia and Auric Gates of Veles – we want to tour and mainly play songs from these two albums, plus a few older tracks. But mainly, I want to promote Rugia and I [want to make up for lost time] with Auric Gates of Veles as well. I’d love to play more in the UK, to bring this line up and this set list to the UK – our booking agent has specifically been told to look for good opportunities for us to play there.” 

How long can a band remain under-appreciated and under-rated? HATE have been one of the most consistently excellent bands in European extreme metal for decades now, and Rugia does nothing but solidify that position. Will Rugia be the album that forces the metal masses to really take notice? Perhaps, perhaps not. But regardless of the effect it will have on HATE’s place in the wider extreme metal pantheon, it is a brutalising, mystical journey to the heart of Poland’s pagan soul and beyond, and yet another example of why HATE reign supreme in the European underground. 

Rugia is out now via Metal Blade Records. 

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