Hateful Abandon - Famine (Or Into The Bellies Of Worms)
Hateful Abandon - Famine (Or Into The Bellies Of Worms). 2008. 4.5 stars.

This is a rather obscure but rewarding debut from Hateful Abandon. Evoking the bleak fog of the UK, this duo play sparse post-punk melancholy with a blackened metal edge. Mournful bellows, accompanied by sinister, wraith-like snarls, open a space where the cold bass lines of Joy Division meet the raspy gloom of Altar of Plagues.

While the dual vocals initially seem melodramatic and odd, they come to complement the fluid guitar riffs as they twist their menacing way. Slower songs like “Riding the Blade” and “Avalanche” roll on with apocalyptic grandeur, with plodding percussion and eerie post-rock jangles creating dark spaces for the band to explore. Hateful Abandon are at their best towards the album’s conclusion, as they throw off their shadowy art-rock decorum and launch into energetic (but none the less oppressive) bursts of post-punk. “Painters Rope” and “Lungs” are understated masterpieces, with sinewy bass lines reminiscent of “Shadowplay” and other dark classics from Unknown Pleasures.

While Hateful Abandon are clearly disciples of the English post-punk tradition, they inject enough of a cold, black metal atmosphere to create a distinct and moody sound. Through the careful use of space, an exchange of vocal styles and muscular muscianship, Hateful Abandon walk a dark mile to the coast, blurring the horizon line.

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