Label: Independent
Date: October 9th, 2023
After “Three Emperors Triangle” (2014), “Degenerate” (2019), “Perfidia” (2020) and “Sacra Doctrina” (2022), Polish black metal duo, Hegeroth, are back with “Disintegration”. The band was formed back in 2010 as a six-piece band and step by step they disintegrated to a two.
Somehow, I missed to review “After Three Emperors Triangle”, but every other album was under my sharp pen, in different magazines. “Disintegrated” contains nine songs, all created between April 2022 and March 2023 at “HHSoundLab Studios”. Mixing and mastering was done by Bene (guitars, bass). The cover is signed by Maciej Kamuda. And what a cover! Compared to previous releases, the cover for “Disintegration” is my favourite. And to be honest, Hegeroth is the band, project, call it however you want, that know how to please at least to us, journalists. Every time they send a promo pack, I know there will be chilling bones, goosebumps… That feeling – child in a candy store… Others should learn from them.
Nine songs are packed in 33:33 effective minutes. The band itself is influenced by Swedish black metal, which, at least for me, is a big plus. Hegeroth proved themselves as great composers, lyricists, behind them is great guitar work and good production. Songs are well balanced, and what might be their trademark, is that they are creating music with enormous passion and dedication. There is not much philosophy when it comes to song titles. Short titles pointed right to the core of the theme they are covering. The same is with the lyrical content. Hegeroth has always been the band that criticizes religion, brainwashing, stupidity of mankind, hypocrisy, and all nonsense that religion entails. Musically, what I like the most is the melody, but at the same time, the band can be brutal and aggressive (the balance I mentioned), this time adding more death metal elements to their sound. Overall, mid-tempo dominates on the album. All songs have the same quality, none stands out. Production might be the best in their career.
Lyrically, the strongest one might be “The Ring”:
“For centuries they have stood here
Now with a slight fear
They watch what happens
Will they crash to the ground
And forever vanish in the mud?”
For the fans of Hegeroth, there will be no surprises, everything that is expected from the band is woven into half an hour of balanced brutality.
Although the Polish Constitution ensures freedom of religion for all, we all know that the truth is far from it. From the examples of individuals and bands, the punishment and persecution of people who speak openly against the church and criticizes the religion, we know that the reality is different. If that is the case, we know that black metal is on the right track, and therefore the music created by Hegeroth.
