Tortured-apart cadaver chunks writhe across the graveyard scene at hand, brought back to life from the dark soil and given slow disassembly by the possessed perturbance of Zaragoza, Spain-based ‘old school’ death metal duo HATING LIFE who’ve mangled the rotted ’til re-animated into wreaths of horror in realizing this debut EP. ‘Revenge From Beyond‘ adheres to the fundaments of morbid classicist death in its unearth as the band’s key point of purpose manifests as a clutch and a yank at the roots of late 80’s/early 90’s style. Their pursuit of this ideal is no different than generational resurgence(s) past on paper but in practicum they’ve managed inordinately haunted atmosphere amidst dark underground authenticity, making for a choice debut appearance.

Hating Life comes from the mind of Ataraxy guitarist Santi (Black Spirit, Pollution Chamber) as the result of jamming on a Boss HM-2 distortion pedal and naturally musing on ‘old school’ death metal, Swedish and otherwise, in the process. Those riffs quickly became songs and his Ataraxy bandmate Javi joined on vocals to reinforce their gig with cavernous station and morbid themes. The band’s name, a reference to an early days Grave song (not their mid groove-death metal album), is clear enough indication of the major seedling for their gig which activates the roots of their interest in late 80’s/early 90’s styled death metal without escaping the duo’s knack for doom and gloom. In fact one of the best features of their work is a fair distribution of both hanging dread and the more harried slapping of the circa ’89-’91 Swedish scene (re: early Unleashed, et al.)

Opener “The Eternal Embrace” carries some of that muscled-out ‘Into the Grave‘-level gnarl afield but it isn’t until “A Sombre Night” exaggerates a similar lean into a doomed-but-bounding sense of movement that Hating Life make their loudest case for this first slate of songs. It makes sense that these pieces were set up front in the running order as this is their knack, what these folks arguably do best in generation of surreal ‘old school’ informed death metal atmosphere and posture. What stands out here outright is a combination of production values, do-it-yourself ruggedness and the weaving path beyond that strong first impression.

Sound design isn’t full on homebrewed on ‘Revenge From Beyond‘ but rings from a cold, hollow place as Hating Life sport a fairly realistic sense of space where vocals bleed into rectangular rehearsal-sized caverne and push backward while ~2-3 main guitar channels generate depth meant to surround the corner-pocket set impact of their drum sound. The effect isn’t full on demo-level but doesn’t push for extreme polish or loudness either ensuring a grime ridden, uglier presence which is stellar from my point of ear. The first half of “A Sombre Night” is probably the best showcase of how this type of render serves the full range of the duo’s style from slowly crushed out death/doom movement to doubly pushed grooves later on. Beyond that point we head in a more straightforward direction on the second half with burner “Revenge From Beyond” hitting as the most typically circa ’91 Swedish death styled piece here.

There is something to be said for ‘old school’ authenticity when it escapes overly ambitious scene-grabbing saladry or blandly referential plagiarism and instead picks a lane worthy of skilled expansion. The majority of Hating Life‘s work on this ~25 minute EP does so without resigning itself to flat recreation (or dry imitation) of auld Swedish death style, bringing their own time-tested sensibilities into an ancient sound and spectacle. The right balance of aggressive riffcraft and atmospheric horror goes a long way here in leaving a solid first impression and it left me wanting to see how they’ll develop this simple enough, stripped back style in the future. A high recommendation.

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