Hatchet – Fear Beyond Lunacy

After the lengthy 5-year wait between Hatchet’s debut and sophomore releases, “Fear Beyond Lunacy” crept up quickly. Fortunately, the band instantly makes up for lost time, as “Living In Extinction” starts the thrashing off in a good way after a short intro. Though the band’s approach is fairly standard when it comes to thrash, Hatchet has a very unique riffing style. You can always identify their riffs by the absolutely furious downpicking (with the occasional gallop, as “Living In Extinction” shows), which sporadically culminates with some higher pitched notes towards the end of the riff. Another song where Hatchet obliterates the dreams of amateur rhythm guitarists is “Killing Indulgence”, where the band throws some faster alternate picking into the end of the main riff. While Hatchet certainly isn’t the fastest band around, they’re rhythmically punishing because every song moves at a speedy tempo and does not let up at any point. Whereas the previous album had an interlude in the middle, once “Fear Beyond Lunacy” gets heavy, it simply does not stop.

In addition to the band’s distinctive riffs, they can also be identified by the shredding of mainman Julz Ramos. He makes use of tons of sweep picking, and while none of his solos are derivative of his previous work, he definitely has some common patterns he favours. The band also utilizes plenty of harmonized guitar sections, sometimes in solos (“Living In Extinction”), sometimes just outside of them (“Lethal Justice”), and sometimes in most of the riffs of a particular song (“In Fear We Trust”). Part of the reason that it’s easy to mention so many songs is because Hatchet excels at writing great songs. Even without a metronome, I’m certain that most of these songs are at the exact same tempo, and yet, they’re all distinctive in their own way. “The World Beyond” is a highlight because it shows exactly how gang vocals are best utilized in thrash. “Dead And Gone” is both a complete rager, and extremely catchy. 

The hardest song to evaluate on “Fear Beyond Lunacy” is the re-recording of “Frozen Hell”. I’m happy to say that I bought their first album shortly after its release in 2008, and for a long time, “Awaiting Evil” was the only Hatchet I had to listen to. Despite the different singer and weaker production, that record does have its own charm. The re-recording certainly accentuates the improvement in those two areas: Julz is a better singer, and the production is now much thicker and heavier. Still, every time this album finishes, I immediately want to go put on “Awaiting Evil” simply because “Frozen Hell” rules so much. I’d chalk it up to nostalgia, but it doesn’t really matter because Hatchet is 3/3 in terms of putting out great records. “Fear Beyond Lunacy” is as enjoyable as their previous work, and is also a great place to start for anyone new to the band!

Be sure to check out and like Hatchet on Facebook!

Highlights

"Living In Extinction"

"Dead And Gone"

"The World Beyond"

"Frozen Hell"

Final Rating

4.5/5 or 90%. 

Written by Scott

Hatchet - Dawn of the End

It is crazy to think just how good things were looking for thrash 5 years ago. There were signs of a thrash resurgence prior to 2008 (Municipal Waste, Toxic Holocaust), but it wasn’t until then that it seemed like bands were popping up left and right. Within a span of months, great albums from Warbringer, Bonded By Blood, and Gama Bomb, among others, were released. One of those other releases was “Awaiting Evil” by Hatchet. Despite what anyone else has said about it, “Awaiting Evil” has always been one of my favourite thrash albums. From the haunting opener, right until the end, it was a feast of riffs, great guitar solos, and just old-school thrash. In many respects, however, it was clear that this was still a new band. The production was lacking, and the music felt raw. After 5 long years and a mostly new lineup, Hatchet are back with “Dawn of the End”, a more mature, yet equally great thrash record.

The first difference you’ll notice between “Dawn of the End” and its predecessor is the huge improvement in the production. It is louder, but also a lot tighter. The rhythm section really stands out; in particular, the heaviness of the bass drums becomes quite prominent. The guitars sound good, but you won’t be paying attention to how they sound, but rather, the sheer number of riffs. Each song has riff after riff of high-quality thrashing. If you haven’t heard Hatchet before, you’ll notice that many of their riffs make use of similar, yet unique intervals in the notes they choose to accent (in the sense that these riffs are similar to each other, but unique compared to other bands). This tactic makes their riffs easy to recognize and very memorable. The most impressive riff is the main one in “Fall From Grace”.  This riff demonstrates why you don’t need to fill every second of a song with sound. It would be unfair to call it a “start-stop” riff, but it definitely leaves room to breathe. Much like the other great songs on this record, “Fall From Grace” is driven by the gang vocals in the chorus. With the exception of “After The Dark” and “Revelations of Good and Evil” (both instrumentals), all of the songs on “Dawn of the End” are fairly straightforward. This makes the record easy to follow, and allows you to be blown away by the shredding of Julz Ramos. His solos sound much like they did on the debut; they have a certain instantly recognizable quality to them, as they make use of similar scales and sweep picking patterns. Julz has also now taken over on vocals. He really doesn’t sound too different from prior singer Marcus Kirchen; he uses a low, snarling thrash shout. While he isn’t the best singer of the new wave, he definitely stands out and adds to the ferocity of the music.

Ultimately, Hatchet has released an uncompromising thrash album. “Dawn of the End” is one of the most rhythmically charging albums of the year, and the band has made considerable effort to make each song stand out. I can’t help but feel if this had come out a few years ago, these guys would have kept pace with Warbringer and Evile. The good news is that this album doesn’t disappoint, and is the thrash album of the year at the moment!

Be sure to check out and like Hatchet on Facebook!

http://www.facebook.com/hatchetofficial?fref=ts

Highlights

"Fall From Grace"

"Signals of Infection"

"Vanishing Point"

Final Rating

4.4/5 or 88%. 

Written by Scott