Album Review: Hate Forest - "Scythia"

Artist: Hate Forest (Ukraine)
Album Title: Scythia
Record Label: Supernal Music (United Kingdom)
Released: 1999 (original) / 2004 (Supernal reissue)

Buying demos reissued on CD can be a risky proposition if you haven't heard the actual music before purchasing. This is why I initially steered clear of Hate Forest's first demo, Scythia. Would it contain little more than half-baked ideas, terrible production, and sloppy musicianship? In this case, the answer is certainly "no." This may be Hate Forest from 1998-1999, a few years before they arguably hit their creative peak (in this band) with Purity and Battlefields, but even at this relatively early state they put many well-established bands to shame with their aggressive and raw brand of Slavonic black metal.

Those who are familiar with their more popular works but haven't heard Scythia may barely recognize the band. In fact, the overall cold atmosphere and hyperactive drum machine are the only major similarities I can find between Scythia and an album like Purity. Roman Saenko and Thurios had not yet adopted the drone-y, hypnotic sound that would become the most recognizable element of their aesthetic. Instead, what we have here is fairly standard raw black metal --though that's not to say it's not well-done, just that they were still at an early stage of their evolution-- along with a couple of short dark ambient pieces. Roman Saenko appears to handle all the vocals on the Scythia demo, and his deep growls are electronically distorted to sound pretty demonic or beastly. This is the only Hate Forest release I'm aware of that uses this distortion, and it gives it a more menacing sound as a result. The higher-pitched growls of Thurios are nowhere to be heard, except on the bonus track.

Scythia is a well-produced and surprisingly focused and accomplished demo, but it's also kind of short, at 25 minutes long. Thankfully, they threw in a great bonus, the 11-minute "To Those Who Came Before Us." This song, recorded in 2002, is much more easily recognizable as a Hate Forest track, as it sounds as if it could have been taken right off of Purity. It is quite possibly my favorite Hate Forest song ever; a long, droning epic of a track with some great guitar lines and vocals from both Roman Saenko and Thurios. The last four minutes of the song are pure melancholic beauty.

I'm sure many Hate Forest fans have probably already heard this release, but any who haven't should hunt down this CD. Drudkh fans who want to hear how it all began may find this to be the best starting place. Just about any Hate Forest release is worth your time (the awful EP The Gates and the bland full-length Sorrow may be the only exceptions) and may help you better appreciate the creative progression that led to the creation of Drudkh.

Drudkh is great, but Hate Forest shouldn't be overlooked.