Extreme Hatred

I have a quick confession to make: my interest in post-90’s thrash metal is basically non-existent. That’s not to say that certain bands can’t play thrash metal properly, nor does it mean that the passion isn’t there… but generally, I'm fine with thrash metal records that came out quite some time ago.

With that out of the way, one might wonder if Hypnosia are that much of an extraordinary band. Quick answer: they’re not, because all their ingredients can be traced back to earlier records. Raspy vocals bring to mind Mille Petroza at his angriest. Massive drums bring to mind the same experience that I recall from Demolition Hammer’s Epidemic of Violence. Of course, the guitars is what it’s at and the guitarists have clearly paid attention to thrash metal's brutal side; studied the most effective riffs of plenty and used that to their own advantage.

By now you should be able to tell that Extreme Hatred is more about thrashing with conviction than originality and I wouldn’t be surprised if Hypnosia came up with the album’s title within a minute, but at least it lives up to its name (something that can’t be said about, say, Extreme Aggression). Here's the thing: sometimes you’re just not after originality and that’s a good thing. While we’ve been bombed by retro thrash metal bands that simply pay tribute to one band (think of Besieged aping early Sepultura, or Deathraiser with their love for the Kreator of old), those bands get extremely boring quickly. Hypnosia are different; it helps that they’ve been influenced by a variety of bands to begin with and they also know how to execute their ideas with fine results. Granted, I’m convinced that there’s a thin line between your faceless retro thrash metal band and the one that proudly embraces their musical heroes of old, but Hypnosia clearly fall in the latter category.

Unleashing nostalgic and violent riff after riff, Hypnosia’s intentions become clear right from the start. The title track introduces Mikael Castervall’s angry snarls, before some pulverizing riffs appear left and right - as if the 90’s and every negative trend associated with it had never happened. The break works excellent; hinting Hypnosia’s subtle taste of melody, yet the song retains its velocity and demonstrates that these guys have thrash for breakfast, lunch and dinner. ‘Circle of the Flesh’ demolishes like a hammer; only to reach breakneck-speed territories with a frantic speedy delivery in the vein of Pleasure to Kill. In other words: it’s brute thrash that will knock your socks off. ‘The Last Remains’ instantly sounds like a throwback to Beneath the Remains, if only you had replaced Max Cavalera’s unconvincing bark with the bloodthirsty rasps of Mille Petroza. It's arguably the most referential track on the record; but with hot riffs that allow each section to unfold with fire and fury, it’s a mosh-worthy experience worth losing yourself in. ‘Act of Lunacy’ is another summoning of the past; with a thundering riff opening that could have appeared on Darkness Descends, it’s a relentless thrasher that has capacity to set bushes on fire with its riffing inferno.

So far so good, but somewhere in the middle, an unexpected instrumental track appears to catch your breath. ‘Gates of Cirith Ungol’ is a total departure of the maniac thrashing affair. With ordinary palm-muted guitar patterns that cause no emotional reaction by any means, sped up sections that lack action and airy guitar leads that contribute to practically nothing, the result is something along the line of the early Metallica instrumentals (which were already hit or miss to begin with) and the track ends up missing its mark completely.

Some mistakes are best not made again and fortunately, Hypnosia understands this. ‘Hang ‘Em High’ marks a return to a thrash fan’s violent fantasies. It’s a brutal assault of tensed riffs that get pretty close to madness of Reign in Blood, while the vocalist remains as pissed off as ever and all that under two minutes! To close off with, ‘Traumatic Suffering’ is the longest cut on the album and despite its unexpected break and brief chugging section, it’s another dangerous collaboration between the angry vocal wails and flexible spiking riffs; making it fun to mosh or to bang your head to (I’d refrain from doing both simultaneously, however).

For a band that appeared after the style’s peak years, Hypnosia are as good as they get and yet, I can’t help but wonder; could there have been a superior follow-up to Extreme Hatred, or had the band given everything they’ve got at this point? Would Hypnosia be better off, if only they had appeared around ten years later? Who knows - at least I can say that Extreme Hatred delivers and that’s all that matters in the end.

This review was originally written for antichristmagazine.com

Never before an album's title has been a more accurate foreshadowing of what's reflected in its content – more than Pleasure to Kill, more than Hell Awaits, hell, more than Epidemic of Violence which plays a similar game. You thought that the trophy of most brutal thrash metal band should be awarded hands down to Demolition Hammer? Ha, you FOOL. Hypnosia sound like they genuinely hate you, and given that this came out in 2000 (and that makes it an even more admirable work), I like to think that a lot of that hatred was directed primarily at the music scene. Just like my compatriot Hellish_Torture wrote on a brilliant review for the painfully bad Extreme Attack, Hypnosia didn't obey to any law nor any trend dictated by the industry, since there was none of that, the market didn't demand any thrash metal album, and they basically said 'fuck that, we're gonna do it anyway, the way we like it'. If nothing else, this may be one of the most sincere and honest works ever. There can't be any doubt about the moral integrity of the band, something we sadly have to question to literally every band around nowadays.

So, Hypnosia's lone full-length album, aptly titled Extreme Hatred. To be completely honest, the Swedes weren't the absolute only madmen thrashing in those obscure times, but originality was hardly the main focus of this exclusive sect, surely not more than simply reminding everyone how awesome old-school metal was. Granted, Extreme Hatred wasn't as uber-nostalgic as Dekapitator's debut We Will Destroy... You Will Obey!!!, but its main thing going for it was, like I said earlier, its earnest, unadulterated feeling of hostility. And oh boy do the band members try their damn hardest to accomplish it...

Mike Sjöstrand blasts on his skins like the future of mankind depended on it (assuming he would care for it...), while Mikael Castervall and Hampus Klang continuously churn out riffs that, even in the rare instances they appear less convincing, are hammered into your brain with equal or superior vehemence, leaving you helpless and insecure about your life. For the record, I'm thinking of the chorus riff in 'Operation Clean-Sweep' where I can't help but think that the axemen just genuinely forgot what they were playing for a second, or the pre-verse riff in 'Act of Lunacy' which maybe shouldn't work on paper, but still, who cares when they're played with such intensity? Not me, especially considering that both are outweighed by two of the most barbaric transitions to a guitar solo I've ever heard... on the latter, the drums even go briefly on their own at neckbreaking speed, preceded by a delicious riff, and hit me every time with the same strength. Pure headbanging heaven.

Talking about riffs, the riffwork, a blatant Jim Durkin/Eric Meyer offshoot and damn proud of it, is easily the main strength of the album, and I won't point out any other specific example because there's plenty of them scattered across its entire duration, never overstaying their welcome. Seriously, on single tracks like 'Circle of the Flesh' and, again, 'Act of Lunacy' there's at least an average EP worthy of riffs in each, and the Swedes jump from one to the other with disarming ease. Unsurprisingly, Castervall provides also the only logical vocal style for such a hostile landscape, a lethal, 100% Teutonic Mille Petrozza/Olly Wiebel hybrid, with a sprinkle of Darren Travis thrown in for good measure, which is pure venom in acoustic form.

So, you may be asking, do they ever slow down? They're so good at blunt-force-thrash that you'll virtually never want them to slow down, but if you need some relief from the constant ear sandblasting, don't worry as thrash breaks are still a thing in Hypnosia-land, and a good half of 'Comatose' provides some slower (but not an iota less unforgiving) minutes. There's also the instrumental 'Gates of Cirith Ungol', in which I wasn't able to identify any LotR references aside from the title, and while it may be the break your neck would probably be desperately longing for, it didn't end up being a remarkable track on its own. Sure, we can hear that Klang can do something slightly more thoughtful than abusing the fretboard, but – again – I'll take 'Traumatic Suffering''s wild, if vaguely dissonant solo, which never fails to paint a big smile on my face, over it every day. There's no room here for arrogant stuff such as an acoustic guitar...

Jokes aside, did I mention that the production itself hits the bullseye too? Assuming that you aren't so naive to look for a bass here, that is... in any case, a great example of what the studio technology progresses of the last ~10 years could have done if applied to a thrash album. Again, a slap in the face of the whole world. The guitar distortion alone somehow perfectly delineates panoramas comparable to the cover (skulls meadows by the roadside included), all while the drumkit resonates as if all this metal-ness somehow had melted and formed the snare and all those other things beaten like there was no tomorrow by the late Sjöstrand. I see Hypnosia was already disbanded for some reason, but his way premature, unfortunate death prevented also an eventual reunion of a band who would presumably have been held in the highest of regards, with people specifically paid to sweep the grounds they would tread (okay probably not but...), had they been around just some years later.

Pointing out highlights is likely futile, but my favourites include (you may have guessed) basically every song I mentioned before, the riff-centric 'Act of Lunacy' and 'Circle of the Flesh' above all. It goes without saying that you should do a favour to yourself and directly listen to the entire album, since it's just shy of 35 minutes. Despite its ridiculously consistent flow, I found some traces of unexploited potential here and there, most notably on the title-bearing opener's second half, which take away some points from an immaculate rating. But if there's one thing you should take from this review, it's that the passion and bona fide aggression put on display by the members are enough to warrant a perfect score for Extreme Hatred deep in the heart of every nostalgic thrash metal aficionado.

Summing it up, ever wondered what Dark Angel would have sounded like if they recruited Pat Lind instead of Ron Rinehart and Gene Hoglan took no interest in progressive metal and continued along the path set by Darkness Descends? Everybody did at least once (don't lie to yourself), and look no further than Extreme Hatred for the answer.

Oh, and make sure you don't miss out on Hypnosia's earlier releases and death metal roots, neatly packed in the 2012 compilation Horror Infernal (you can easily find it on Bandcamp), because this, folks, was truly a band that delivered.

I first heard Hypnosia in 2005 on internet radio. Circle of the Flesh came on and I remember having to drop everything and listen. Hypnosia clearly picks up from where Kreator left off with Extreme Aggression; I have a feeling that the similarity in the title is intentional. Too bad that by that time the band had already moved on, as their musical endeavours were never met with the success they deserved.

Lets get one thing straight. Extreme Hatred is brutal thrash. It's absolutely relentless, the kind of stuff that will leave you exhausted if you manage to listen throughout in one sitting. The easiest way to describe the music on the album would be a mix of 80s Kreator, Sodom, early Sadus and Morbid Saint.

If I had to pick one song that is the standout on Extreme Hatred, The Last Remains would be it. Brutal yet catchy with breakneck tempos and razor sharp riffs. Comatose and Extreme Hatred are other highlights however it's quite impossible to identify tracks as favourites. The quality of the material is very high and consistent throughout the album. This is a monumental release, a rare case of a masterpiece where everything has come together perfectly; the production, the songwriting and the performances.

The case of Extreme Hatred is a two fold one. On one side you have a wondrous musical accomplishment. On the other you have the timing of the release. The year is 2000, the peak of NU metal. Labels, promoters, fans, even bands were so overtaken by the dominance of Limp Bizkit, Slipknot, Mudvayne and the rest of the hip hop infused "metal', that almost no one paid attention to the brilliance of this old school thrash release. If Extreme Hatred had come out five years later I am confident that Hypnosia would be leading the resurgence of the thrash movement.

Hypnosia made its ultimate musical statement in a scene poisoned with excrement and unfortunately the outstanding Extreme Hatred was never met with the recognition it deserved. The band members moved on forming the excellent AC DC worship band Bullet and continued to make great music, but their final effort as Hypnosia would remain their unseen masterpiece.

When you first listen to Hypnosia's Extreme Hatred you might want to guess where they're from. Are they from the bay area, Germany, Florida, Latin America? Nope, these guys are from Sweden. Sweden is an interesting place, because these guys sound nothing like the Swedish scene did at the time. During the time period this was released melodeath and power metal dominated the Swedish scene. Stuff like Opeth, Arch Enemy, In flames, Children of Bodom, and Hammerfall were the most popular bands at the time. Fuck all that shit though this album is thrash fucking metal! This album blows away any of those bands. First, we have to talk about the vocals. Mikael Castervall’s vocals sound like Kreator's Millie Petrozza with even more venomous rage. He has that same kind of rasp, and aggression to his singing that Millie from Kreator possesses. The vocals and lyrics deal with the same kinds of topics early Kreator (Pleasure to Kill and before) did. Examples of such topics include hatred, evil, death, violence, and many more.

Second, let's talk about the drums by Michael Sjöstrand. His drumming was extremely intense and aggressive; his skank beats were hard hitting and barbaric. He knows though when to let the music flow such as the instrumental song "Gates of Cirith Ungol" which is pretty calm, and his drumming isn't overwhelming on that song. The rest of the songs though he's goes balls out insane like the 2nd song “Circle of the Flesh,” he annihilates the double bass drums relentlessly. Unfortunately all great things come to an end, and Michael died in 2004 from Skin Cancer. So sad, that such a talented player passed away so young.

The guitars play in the style of Morbid Saint/Kreator in that there are a lot of tremolo picked sections, there are the usual thrash chugging sections, and the start/stop thrash riffs everybody loves. The solos are pretty solid with lots of melody incorporated into them, not just random note guitar shredding but use of actual music theory and harmony are used, and that is a plus in my book. The use of acoustic guitars in the instrumental song the "Gates of Cirith Ungol" sound very beautiful. It's reminiscent to Metallica's Fade to Black. If you don’t know the "Gates of Cirith Ungol" are the gates that guarded the pass of Cirith Ungol. It is a reference to J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Return of the King.

Overall, this album happened to be a thrash masterpiece before the thrash revival was known by that name. It came out in the year 2000 in Sweden a country which is not well known for thrash and it helped resurrect thrash back to its most savage form. This album has it all anger, hate, violence, malevolence, and speed. Sure it's not the most original record and there is very little variation during the entire album, but it thrashes hard and fast. That's really all you can ask for in a record like this, plus the musicianship is good on top of everything. Production is also very good; everything is sharp and clear in the mix nothing is muddy or overpowering. It sounds just like a modern thrash record would accept far more aggressive. If you like brutal thrash in the form of Kreator, Sodom, Sadus, Morbid Saint, and early Slayer check out this album you'll be thrashing to your mom’s house I guarantee it.

Okay, this band wrote songs and released material in a period when the masses weren’t ready for a thrash metal revival yet. Thrash metal had slowly vanished from the scene during the early nineties and by the time Hypnosia released their EP and full length (1999/2000) the scene was mostly dominated by death, black and nu-metal and the Gothic metal scene was slowly getting mainstream. As far as the old eighties styles went, only power metal was making a comeback at this point. Iron Maiden joining up with Smith & Dickinson gave the metal scene a boost of old school feelings as well.

Hypnosia played thrash metal in a period when practically nodoby did. It took a few years until the thrash metal revival really started to flourish. Therefore Hypnosia can be considered quite a die hard bunch. They love this style and they will let you know it! Back in those days I wrote shortly with guitarist Cab and I still am glad with my worn out T-shirt. There were only a few bands in those days playing this kind of brutal thrash metal. Like Dekapitator from the States, Magnetron from the Netherlands and, as said, Hypnosia. Most other bands (especially scandinavian ones such as Darkane or The Crown) claiming to play thrash metal in those days incorporated way too many modern (Gothenburg, groove or death grunts) influences to be taken serious.

Hypnosia played eighties thrash metal the Continental Way, being far more brutal than most old school thrash bands from the States used to be (except for Dark Angel, the fastest old Slayer and the early Sadus of course). Hypnosia was about old Kreator, Dead Head, Sodom and the first Merciless album (The Awakening, 1990) Furious screaming vocals. Hyperactive drums, Guitars that don’t know when to shut up but never sound too decent or heavy and are mostly fast and furious. Stop-and-go breaks. You get the general idea. The style everybody had been missing since old school thrash died around 1991.

Most notible difference with their earlier EP “Violent Intensity” is the catchiness of the material and the aggressive but clear production. The riffs are more to the point, crystalised to maximum efficiency and the choruses on numerous songs were highly memorable. Also within the material there are a lot of changes in pace and key without losing intensity. There are no specific highlights since the album as a whole is energetic and just crushes on full length. But if I have to mention a few it would be “Extreme Hatred”, “Circle of the Flesh ” and “Act of Lunacy”.

A fabulous thrash metal album from an era that can be considered the worst days in metal. A remarkable achievement.

This debut album is reminiscent of the highly aggressive and unrelenting brand of Thrash made famous by the German scene in the mid to late 80s. There is no more proof of this than the Sodom-like title track, which is complete with the simple, yet highly effective riff structures, the overt Thrash break and the slow, non-complex nature of the lead. More reference can be drawn to Sodom and their German compatriats, due to the fact that the riffs pummel away at your like a jackhammer - much like 'Agent Orange'.

This abrasive and highly catchy riff-o-rama also takes influences from Thrash legends Sepultura. The best example of this is on the high intensity slab of pure thrashing chaos that is the energetic 'The Last Remains'. Incidently, this is amongst the shortest of the tracks and luckily so, as if this was any longer it would land a knockout blow!

The guitar tone is very punchy and raw and suits this album perfectly - reminding me of the sound that was achieved on Dark Angel's 'Time Does Not Heal'. This means the riffs can be heard in clarity, yet still come off as being raw and aggressive. The general riff structures are either of the percussive based rhythm of the Thrash variety, or the melodic tremolo of a Death Metal nature. This combination of a Death/Thrash hybrid follows the precedent set by Kreator's 'Pleasure To Kill', albeit in a more modern style.

The insanity of this album is kept coherent by some adequate drumming, which builds on the foundations set by the guitarwork with some snare lead blasting and some handy double kick work.

This is complimented by some effective vocals, that are not over the top like some of their Thrash predecessors. They are best described as being in the vein of the shrieking used by Kreator and Morbid Saint, yet a bit harsher.

There is no filler to be found on this album - just nine tracks of pure Thrash so you can bang your head and bask in the glory of this fine genre the whole way though. This has as many quality riffs as anyone else in the Thrash genre has ever produced and goes as recommended to anyone that likes riffs in quantity and more importantly, in quality.

I was very surprised when I realised that this band was Swedish - none of the bullshit hardcore of The Haunted, or the geigh Iron Maiden melodies of In Flames, or any of the infinite ways of sucking that Opeth have discovered all on their own (Nobel Prize coming soon, guys - keep up the ... uhh... good work.)

Anyway - this is THRASH FUCKING METAL!!!! This is the worthy successor to Kreator's second album. The death-metal influence is there (I've always thought Pleasure was death-thrash, some of those riffs are not all that removed from Scream Bloody Gore), but overall, this is a monster of a fucking THRASHER. Just like that Kreator album, this tends to go very fast for very fast's sake for a while, before always coming in with a slightly slower, more memorable riff... for example, the opener goes along its business for about 2 minutes...

NOW IT'S TIME TO DIE!!!

Congratulations, someone has stapled your genitalia to your forehead, and borrowed your kidneys. A WINNER IS YOU!!! So bang your head as if up from the dead. The ending riff-set is not all that far removed from Sepultura meets Dark Angel (Time Does not Heal era). Circle of the Flesh is more Kreator worship, though a bit sloppy at times. Those that answered Vio-lence to the unposed question would not be that wrong either.

Then, the textbook three minute raging motherfucking thrash nightmare of THE LAST REMAINS. Holy motherfucker eating nails for breakfast - check out the under-verse riffs, and if you think it doesn't get any more impressive, check out the FOUR distinct parts of the middle break. Neck... need... vacation. All this in 2 minutes, 49 seconds. Sepultura were never quite this brutal, to the point, and motherfucking thrashtacularly thrashtacular. Imagine their usual above-midpace-efficient riff being sped up 25%, but without losing any of the brutality. Yes, it's possible. I think I played this song six times in a row at one point and didn't quite get enough.

Comatose is another highlight - nice opening riff, and then the combination of fast and slow parts works very well - the midpaced bludgeoning parts of the chorus, and then the bridge part with the riffage cranked up yet another notch - very excellent. The main riff is very much reminiscent of Calling in the Coroner, and the straightforward "the face smashing will continue until morale improves" riffing is also quite fucking nice.

Then, the second complete raging highlight of the album. Act of Lunacy - the intro riff is total Darkness Fucking Descends, but then we go through a good four or five major mindsets, each bringing to mind a new and different way of totally fucking over your neck muscles. SCHIZOPHRENIC FATE!!! That righ there is masterful Exodus worship, with a bit of Overkill thrown in too. Kids, if you're going to claim that you're thrash, the least you can do is obey your unquestioned masters.

The Haunted - take notes and die.

The more atmospheric (aside from one fucking middle passage) "Gates of Cirith Ungol" leads into the fast and furious "Hang 'em High", and then finally Traumatic Suffering. Suffering is cool. Huh, huh huh huh. I wish I could say something more intelligent, but apparently one or more of the riffs has shoved a largish spike through the centre of my brain, leaving me a drooling idiot. Oh well. I think what ended up reducing my ability to think was the complete and massive time change at around 2.55 or so - Hell, they even throw in a few seconds of dead silence to complete the effect. Song over? Nah dude, song ain't the fuck over. Here comes the in the ultimate way of killing the worthless fucking listener ... the monster riff at 3.36. Welcome to Demolition Hammer land, the theme park that does not fucking suck. Please make your stay short, fast, and more brutal than a monkey carrying a grenade launcher.

Not for the faint of Heart. Losers, go back to listening to the Haunted. This is real thrash for the people that are not afraid of too many fucking riffs.

Every once in awhile a band comes along that adds almost nothing to the current formula of Metal, but the music contained within is so undeniably good, that you don't care if you've heard it 2 or 10 times before. Hypnosia has succeeded in not only releasing a CD that successfully pays homage to 80's Sepultura, Kreator, and Slayer, but one that actually surpasses those bands in some ways.

The title track starts off the disc, and while it is actually the weakest song on Extreme Hatred, it is a very good opening track with Cab screaming out his vocals amidst sudden starts and stops of the drumming and riffing; a fabulous way to start things off. "Circle Of The Flesh" and "The Last Remains" are next, both songs are very similar in nature to Sepultura's "Beneath The Remains" and "Inner Self". It would be pointless to continue a track by track listing because every song is solid. Each track has a least two choppy riffs that are instant Thrash classics, some have even more. The vocals are well done and are most similar to Kreator, while the lyrics are somewhat amusing and appropriate of the genre. Thrash Metal has a lot of good drummers, and add Hypnosia's to that list; he plays incredibly fast with great fills and timing- some of his work will leave the most hardened Thrash fan with a smile. The leads are also well executed and always seem to come at the appropriate moment. The many riff and drum pattern changes are timed to perfection as well. During my first listen, on pretty much every song I thought to myself, "if they went into double bass right now, that would be the icing on the cake", and they did every time. In a way you could say Hypnosia is predictable, but this isn't a band looking to throw surprises at you; they are purely here to combine all the elements from some of the 80's best Thrash bands and execute them with a high grade of musicianship. Some other highlights include "Act Of Lunacy" with its sweeping Thrash blast beasts to double bass runs, and the instrumental: "The Gates Of Cirith Ungol". While the instrumental isn't on the same level as say Metallica's "Orion", or Death Angel's "The Ultraviolence" (after all it is only 3 minutes long) it is never the less an excellent addition; it contains some great riffs and a nice acoustic progression to the more extreme parts. The final track, "Traumatic Suffering" is another classic song. Near the end, the song breaks off into what appears to be the end of the CD, but then, the song blasts back with a new riff and drum run that every Thrash fan is sure to appreciate.

Not too many bands release CD’s like this anymore. Most current Thrash bands are releasing great material (The Haunted, Defleshed, and The Crown) but it is decidedly different than what Sepultura, Kreator, and Slayer were doing in the 80's since they all have a touch of another genre. Even the Thrash bands that have stayed true, such as Sodom, Kreator, and Destruction have changed slightly over the years. Point is, if you long for another CD like Beneath The Remains or Reign In Blood, look no further than Extreme Hatred. Despite the refusal to add very many new elements, you can't go wrong with this. As long as the riffs and chops run rampant on every song, with the drumming pummeling you at every turn, I personally don't mind if I've heard it before.