Italian technical death band Hatesower were formed in 2009 (originally named Inside back in 2006 yet changed the name to Hatesower in 2009 and changed their musical direction) previously releasing 3 cds with Inside which gained them rave reviews in Metal Hammer and Metal Maniacs magazine. Now, with their change in name and style ‘Humunperfection’ is about to be released.

So, starting with ‘Pain of Screaming’, there’s a very odd feel to this, the vocals are death metal in an Angela Gossow style, yet the music itself is almost power metal. The riffs are pretty basic however; the solo is an impressive array of high noted finger mastery.

‘Apocalyptic Shadows’ personally I think sounds like it was all made on a computer adding a bit of an old school stylophone then vocals later. A riff that’s unimpressive and too complicated to enjoy and made me want to switch off straight away, nevertheless I carry on listening hoping for something more yet with this track there was nothing more on offer. ‘Amon’ again doesn’t give much in the way of a good track apart from the insane solo. Which is a shame, the vocals are good and the guys can play, but the music itself is too droney and boring. ‘Blood Flows’ sounds pretty much exactly the same as the previous track with the added fail on the dodgy sound effects, think 80’s video games.

Ok, so .. ‘Slave Of’ at least has a bit of an edge to it. The riffs are more listenable and the drumming is impressive, the only downside to not just this track but the album on a whole… it’s just too clean.  ‘The End You Deserve’ goes back to the weirdness, and that damn stylophone sound. It just doesn’t sound right at all. Like a 5 year old playing with a toy whilst the band is recording the album.

Hoping for something special to end the cd on, ‘Escape’ starts off quite promising with some Amon Amarth style riffs.  The vocalist sounds much more brutal on this and it really gives you the feeling that he’s busting his ass to get that sound. The solo on this one is fantastic. Yngwie Malmsteen would be proud as punch!

The production work is fine, yet the album just sounded too clean and polished, there was hardly an edge to it. At some parts the riffs got a little too complicated and seemed the guitarist was showing off rather that playing something listenable. Don’t quit the day job just yet fellas, get back into the studio and get it roughed up a bit.

(3/10 Charlene Rance)