Suicidal Emotions

Long before being ostracized due to supposed far-right ideologies that were supposedly unveiled due to past demos and a re-issue by nsbm label Vinlandic Werwolf Distribution and the dedication on this album to Absurd founder Hendrik Möbus, the Australian solo project Abyssic Hate was highly revered as a pioneer of depressive black metal in its earliest form with its only 2000 studio album, Suicidal Emotions. Its only member and founder, Shane Rout has always maintained a very low profile among the community, and by now he barely posts anything on social media anymore, although, in addition to Abyssic Hate, he was also a member of Blood Duster and Filth, but failed to establish a career in the Australian scene, so you might as well consider him permanently retired.

The first thing that sticks on this album is not much the songwriting, but rather the production, which is surprisingly clean and intelligible for an underground black metal release. The mixing strongly emphasizes the twin guitars' fuzz-like sound and harmonies and also the bass, while penalizing the vocals (which aren't much important by the way) and the drum programming, which is left far in the background, submerged by the other instruments. It's an interesting mixing, which results in a clear, claustrophobic atmosphere which suits the material pretty well, especially due to the relative absence of reverb.

As for the material itself, it's based on four lengthy tracks, one of which is divided in two parts. Depression starts the album with seven alternated, repeated patterns over its 12-minutes duration, featuring familiar open-chord E droning, augmented harmonies, post-rock dual guitar rhythmic/lead arrangements: for members of Trist, Make a Change... Kill Yourself, Nyktalgia and the like, this album provided plenty of sources of inspiration and songwriting. Drumming rarely diverges from mid-tempo double-bass assault.

The rest of the tracks follows the same formula, very rarely diverging from the said open-chord approach, re-using the same chords over and over. Betrayed features some beatless dynamic drops with arpeggios, Depression Part II features some dissonant riffs through and through, and closing mammoth Despondency features slower harmonies and a dark ambient outro with strings, choir and thunderstorm noise by Raison d'être (if my memory doesn't fail me, it should be sampled from one of the tracks from its 1997 album In Sadness, Silence and Solitude, but I don't remember which one).

Regardless of the project's ideology, fixations on depression, suicide and misanthropy for reasons never clarified, Suicidal Emotions is an album that anticipates tons of later alternative rock/metal niches, especially those more affiliated with post-punk, neofolk, blackgaze and atmospheric/ambient, despite the fact here there's not even half the technology of later productions. Because of this and of its improvised, peculiar mixing, the album sounds unique despite its strong debt to past Burzum releases, a hidden gem among the genre's catalogue. Not one of my very favorites (sonically great, but gets monotone and cold to my ears over time), but still a genre-defining release itself.

Abyssic Hate is undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with in the Australian black metal movement. The band dates its origins back to 1993. However, the band reached the pinnacle of success in the 2000's thanks to the full-length "Suicidal Emotions".

This 4 track album runs a little under 50 minutes and contains some of multi-instrumentalist Shane Route’s best work to date.

What gets to you from the get-go is the fuzzy guitar tone, reminiscent of earlier work by Burzum. The low-fi production helps create a trance-inducing atmosphere throughout this record's duration. The guitar riffs are simple yet effective, there is a lot of repetition, but not enough to make you feel weary. Shane Rout is a pretty accomplished drummer, yet he decided to use a drum machine in this album. Saying that it hasn't really dampened the sound in any way shape or form.

The vocals too, are reminiscent of early Burzum, the masterfully written lyrics are shrieked out over the wall of sound, and it works like a charm every time.

Suicidal Emotions is one of those records that comes along once in a while and leaves its mark on the scene. The band hasn't released anything substantial after this, which is a shame because this is album leaves you wanting more and more.

Abyssic Hate is a band that I first heard about four summers ago back in 2011 when I was going through an extremely hard time. Depressive suicidal black metal was pretty much the only music I listened to that entire summer. I was constantly looking for new DSBM bands to check out, and Abyssic Hale's "Suicide Emotions" was an album I came upon while browsing one of those "best of" lists on the Internet. After viewing the cover artwork of this album, it was clear the music was going to be absolutely miserable, which was exactly what I wanted at the time. Fast forward to the present. I'm generally very happy in life, yet DSBM still speaks to me and remains one of my favorite styles of black metal. This album has stuck with me throughout four years and I've surely headed over 100 times front to back.

Shane Rout handles all the instruments on this album. It is definitely a cliche idea, a one man black metal band. This is a practice that is not unheard of. In fact, it's pretty much a characteristic for the genre. The guitars are the most out front instrument on the album. Rout doesn't play extremely technical riffs. Instead, he elects for a droning, repetitive, melodic style of playing that has become a main staple in DSBM bands. This style of music is really captivating and beautiful when it comes to minimalism. Atmosphere is always more important than technicality here, and this album showcases that well. With songs ranging from 7 and a half minutes to 17 and a half minutes, these four songs make up nearly 50 minutes of cold, repetitive black metal that puts the listener into a dark trance of hopelessness and misery, and that's just what the goal of this music is. "Depression: Part I" probably has four riffs throughout the 12 and a half minute runtime, but that's one of the charms on this album. This song is probably the most captivating and powerful track on the album, and a hell of a way to initiate this storm of darkness. The "heaviest" song on this album is probably "Betrayed", as it begins with chugging guitar riffs that aren't really a characteristic of DSBM. Regardless, this is still a unique addition and a welcomed one at that.

The vocals are full of sadness and despair. Unlike a lot of DSBM bands, these vocals don't sound like Burzum worship. Not that that's a bad thing, as a lot of bands I listen to use that I guess you could say "wolfish howl" vocal style. A lot of these bands use extremely high pitched screams, but Rout tends to use a vocal style that sounds fairly unique. They are also mixed in with the rest of the instruments perfectly and don't get in the way or fall back to far within the distorted guitar fuzz or drums. The production of this album is amazing. No, it's not clean. It's still extremely raw and fuzzy. But that's what gives it such an amazing atmosphere. This truly is some of the most beautiful music the DSBM genre has to offer, and a no doubt classic.

If you like extremely sad black metal, this album should be right up your alley. If you are feeling depressed, this will match your emotions quite well. Released in 2000, this album is definitely a classic in the DSBM genre. Any fan of this style of music should hear this. In my opinion, it is an essential release, and a flawless one at that.

Sad to say, this is probably not the kind of music that will appeal to most people, and it is obvious that sole Abyssic Hate instrumentalist, composer, and performer Shane Rout has designed his musical expression (at least in this form) to give off, more than anything else, a freezing aura of solipsism, and a 'warding-off' atmosphere of solitude, desperation, or despair. Abyssic Hate clearly was started to give voice to his hatred of man. Much like Vikernes' early work with Burzum (I am thinking mainly of the first two albums), the melodies that are encased here within thick layers of raw distortion are themes that would never lend themselves to 'group' listening, i.e., they are meant to be communicated from one individual, the musician, to another - the listener, and the messages that are embalmed in these icy songs are best interpreted when one is alone, after a listening, and free to ponder their significance in a deathlike silence. As it is on the listener's side, so it must be on the composer's...I just can't imagine Shane explaining his ideas on black metal or playing these songs on a stereo in front of an audience, for example, or as a demonstration for others...no matter how strong they said their 'convictions' were or how much they begged to be tortured...

No, these melodies have been wrenched out of highly emotional moments and spun together to form a tapestry that I believe is both revealing and mystifying, much like the very personal or 'confessional' lyrics, which must have been written in order to exorcise dire demons, and which can either be read as a glimpse into specific times in a man's life, or as abstractions begging to be interpreted in the search for general communication. 'Revealing' - in that the lyrics and melodies are much more emotional, subjective, and personal than most bands, and 'mystifying' in that these songs do not ever really directly picture (for the reader) what they are trying to communicate...they don't spell out the source of (or primary inspiration for) their creation, for example, and they don't concretely refer to specific instances in time - the images are metaphors or descriptive symbols, and what they communicate is primarily emotional instead of being the telling of a story or the spreading of one distinct message. Rather, what we have here are isolated segments of deep pain, personal suffering, bled out in a recording studio...and the lyrics are the attempt on the part of the musician to bleed out on paper, using evocative language, what he couldn't exactly refer to or evoke using abstract music. In other words, depending on what you want to take away from this album and how squeamish you are when it comes to feeling empathy for an artist, these songs will either manifest themselves as personal snapshots of extreme emotional states, or generalized dark 'narratives' that seek to speak in a language of distress, appealing to you because you may or may not have experienced similar moments. Internal or external - will you choose to desensitize yourself to the power of these melodies, or will you seek empathy in their relation? How much of yourself will you bring to the listening? Again, much like Burzum, what you get out of listening to this music will depend, to a great degree, on what you bring into it...

'Suicidal Emotions' is a collection of four powerful songs spanning forty-nine minutes, with only one song - the third, 'Depression, Part II' - being under eleven minutes in length. As I hinted at above, what first struck me about these compositions was just the way they were recorded and the different levels of emphasis placed on the instruments. For example, the dominating instrument here is definitely the guitar - both the tone and sound of the guitar as well as the layering of different parts. The tone and sound? Excellent...waves upon waves of overdistorted rawness. The different parts, all blending into each other? Interesting, mainly in the way that contrasting riffing styles are used to create a stylistic whole...and the methods by which two distorted guitar signals (the loudest ones in the left and right channels, naturally) are used as a sort of 'screen' or 'mask' beneath which the main melodies seem to have free reign to play upon the listener's dreams or direct understanding. This creates almost a 'subliminal' effect, really, where one's ears have to pick through the layers of 'masking' distortion (metaphorical adjuncts of burial earth or a funeral fog) to adequately pierce into the heart of the music. Also, metaphorically again, this forces the listener to 'transcend' the prosaic forces in the music (the simplest repetitive melodies on the surface) in order to descend to where the real meaning of these songs lay hidden. This is just the way it sounds to me...I don't know exactly how this music was recorded.

Without a doubt my favorite song on this album would be the opener, the soothing (at least to me), head-drowning, and impressively dark 'Depression, Part I', which is a beautiful example of ambient/abstract/droning black metal guitarwork, and which features, for me, the most moving melodies on the entire record. This entire song is put together perfectly, and as it cycles through its different sections I am always impressed by its ability to project an atmosphere of isolation, misanthropy and...a forsaken melancholy. What's especially interesting is the creative ending guitar section starting at 10:03 and ending at 11:21 - this is basically just a minute of guitars, free from all restrictions, reaching out and stretching forth to harmonize with each other in a storm of distortion. Impressive. Many people, I am sure, would find this song disturbing (both its sound and its lyrics), but for me it is pure uninterrupted bliss...

This is officially Abyssic Hate's first album (there were a number of tapes released before this), and although it includes material from an earlier date in this band's progression and so doesn't exactly refer to what Shane may be doing now, it makes me look forward to hearing more of his music, and I wish him luck...I believe that this band, like so many other one-man bands in the history of black metal, really has something original to say and has invented an original method for doing so...let's hope that Abyssic Hate's future lives up to the promise of this initial outpouring. This record is highly recommended.

UA

Erebus Magazine
http://erebuszine.blogspot.com

Abyssic Hate is essentially Burzum-style reductive monochromatic black metal of hypnotic minimalism in raw primal sound, with melancholic lead melodies reminiscent of Katatonia's Brave Murder Day.

An initial motif is introduced, followed by a restrained increase of energy. Each section is purposely extended in duration and tone to establish a kind of hallucinogenic ambience, as transitions to new sections distinctly occur once the required effect has been produced. The central riff which defines each section, along with the commentary vocal phrase, sustains chronological succession, as each theme affirms itself through repetition. A suspension of established momentum occurs for the purposes of reflective elucidation. This is occasionally free of drums and always of vocals, with only the layered guitars repeating chords for extended segments, until a rejoining of elements fleshes out the theme towards a discovery of a central intentional expression, which, once confirmed, ushers the composition to an extended fade-out. The essential idea of each song is always revealed through a gradual unfolding of layers, which makes for lengthy tracks which never identify a formal resolution in the shape of a conclusion, suggesting an eternal flowing which must of necessity grow silent after compositionally proportional emphasis of meaning.

"All means seemingly focus towards the end
There is no reason to live anymore when the reason cannot be attained."

Guitars are densely layered in fuzz-drenched distortion, presented loudly in the mix, as drums and vocals are relegated to a ghostly distance. Uneventful drumming serves only as a percussive undercurrent driving rhythmic motion, programmed with strict necessity as to what the music requires and no more, for any embellishment threatens the hypnotic effect. Vocals are equally uneventful in tone and emotional dynamic, serving only as apparitional communicator of concept. Any elaboration beyond this method expresses an enthusiasm which is foreign and therefore obtrusive to and thematically disharmonious with the overall aesthetic and conceptual presentation.

Suicidal Emotions is an exploration of dejection and sempiternal desperation and its accompanying isolation in self-justified depression and misanthropic rejection. The incurable suffering which is the fundamental state of existence as necessary condition of all life is here felt as the product of an intentionally antagonistic world specifically designed to oppress and alienate. The suffering and misery explored through this music is personalized in subjectivity, resulting in a self-pity of an embryonic nature. A surrender to hopelessness as the deliverance of death whispers in the shadows. Though the deliverance can be hastened through self-termination, it is only the solace of such an act as a possibility within the sufferer's power which is revealed here, as the ultimate futility of the act is acknowledged, though here this is recognized without clarity and pure understanding, yet merely felt deep within, without the adequate reflection that leads to a more universal understanding of existential despair.

"But the solace lay beyond the darkness
In a land where light and life dwell
Yet soon will come death and the numbing fires
Only then will my mind lay to rest"

The music effectively expresses depression and isolation, never hinting at an enthusiasm which is entirely alien to such feelings. The monotony of repetition portrays the static quality of deep disconsolation and disenchantment with life which is this music's primary theme. The colorlessness of the music and its total lack of artistic decoration aside from what is necessary effectively represents the hopelessness that fills the empty and useless days through which the individual drifts in a paralyzed, void-like existence. The riffs and melodies are never angry or evil, but always reflective, melancholic, though never relaxed enough to introduce a feeling of tranquility or contentment with the portrayed condition. The album’s most impacting moment arrives in the penetratingly sad guitar melody during the near mid-point of "Despondency", which, along with the low vocal cry at this melody’s introduction, clearly and beautifully expresses the true intention of the album’s expression. Yet, because the music is such a convincing representation of the lyrical themes, it must also necessarily suffer from their delusion and lack of universal insight into the suffering of not only one individual, but the suffering of universal existence. The music never identifies a resolution because its creator has no answers other than suffering defeat at the hands of fatalism.

The minimalist, trance-inducing black metal of early Burzum and the monochromatic repetition of Brave Murder Day-era Katatonia are obvious influences, but the end result, while unified and effective, does not achieve the quality of either, because it lacks their transcendental aspects and perceptive conceptual insight. Thus its overall significance is limited to its aesthetic as a proper portrayal of its given themes, but stops there, as it has nothing to say of the universal, only the particular. The sleeve imagery and design is suitably stark and colorless, as is the production, which lends the guitars a rusted yet eloquent presence of sound and tone, forming the focal point of the music, with drums and vocals low in the mix. The dark ambient outro, provided by Raison d'etre, following as it does four lengthy depressive black metal tracks, offers a somewhat detached yet appropriately haunting and claustrophobic closure to the disc, yet might have been better placed in the middle of the track sequence, since this would have better emphasized its relation to the rest of the material.

If there were an album that I should mark as "perfect", I think that Suicidal Emotions of Shane Rout's one man band Abyssic Hate absolutely deserves that place. In my opinion this is something like a unique album, many times plagiarized but never - never - repeated and, most of all, extremely innovative in thousands of aspects (and I do not really get all those comparisons to Burzum that many reviewers have made, since there is little Burzum in here). In terms of emotions it's really indescribable, and I think that I have listened to it so many times since it was released in 2000 that I can't really tell a number of any sort. Maybe one thousand times!

The album itself is made up by four long songs that mix up extremely well in something that one could call not really a concept album, but rather a handful of feelings divided into a four-piece opera (and the lyrics are not only based upon the same kind of themes, but they can also be read one after the other, in the order of the songs, like a biography); thus these four songs are pretty similar in the structure: the drum machine is omnipresent and really fast most of the times, the guitars have always the same high and Darkthrone's Transilvanian Hunger-like distorted sound, and the voice is low and harsh, perfectly inserting its screams inside the instrumental pattern.

As I said before, emotions are the main evaluation criteria, not only - of course - for what concerns Abyssic Hate but even for the entire so-called suicidal/depressive kind of black metal, and probably a listener that is not able to catch Suicidal Emotions's potential will probably categorize this album as a bunch of boring riffs and stupid screams. For these reasons I think that in order to completely appreciate this masterpiece, the listener should be used to these sounds, sounds wanting - and, in this case, succeeding - to create waves of feelings starting from no more than five or six guitar riffs per song combining themselves throughout the song itself.

And, in order to properly understand the meaning of the songs (about which I will write only a few lines below), you need - of course - to follow the lyrics, since they are not that understandable, considering Shane Rout's choice of a scream vocal style recorded low and at times indistinguishable from the guitars' patterns. And I am using the plural since through all the four song that compose this full-length, there are almost always two guitars playing different riffs and adding an even more plain and charged feeling to the songs themselves.

Since I have mentioned the lyrical theme, don't kill me if I tell you that I have found in these songs (and unlike all the other Abyssic Hate recordings) many aspects in common with Giacomo Leopardi's poetry, mainly in the so-called feeling of "titanism", that kind of thought in which the writer marks his uniqueness and individuality while alienating himself from the world and the nature, searching for eternity. Of course, if I could write in one of my mother tongues I should probably be able to explain what I mean in a less ridiculous way, but I acknowledge that Shane Rout is Australian, and in his perfect English he manages to write lyrics that alone will explain the kind of view I was trying to describe. And since the textbooks tell us that titanism, in some cases, considers suicide (and I'm referring to the lyrics and to the title of the album itself, of course) as the supreme act of rebellion and challenge against the whole nature - and therefore not as a renounciation to life - I can only advise you to read the lyrics with other points of view, rather than those many times classified as "childish" or even "emo"! Think about it.

Despondency is the song I love the most, it has some astonishing guitar melodies that culminate into a long and slow solo-like riff in the middle of the track, only to introduce once again the same pattern of riffs of the first half, that eventually fade into a dark and oppressive ending (which reminds to me of some Finntroll slow ambient parts) played by Peter Andersson's ambient group called Raison D'Être. The other three songs are of the same kind as this one, but in every one of them Shane Rout always manages to stop a riff and to introduce a new one at the right time, taking the listener through all the songs (that last, on average, more than 10 minutes) just like if it was an ambient track. And I state this for a precise reason: unlike Abyssic Hate's other recordings, that lay more on the black metal side, this unique masterpiece is in fact more ambient than black, and even for this reason it needs a particular disposition in the listener: it is not something you are going to listen at concerts or at the disco..!

Suicidal Emotions is an album you may listen song by song, but I think one should listen to it from the beginning to the end: it's so relaxing and imaginative to me that one could not image.. but it's of course a personal feeling, built on years and years of listening to this amazing album and to the dreams it has been creating in my mind. Musically speaking, I think that every single guitar riff that Shane Rout has recorded on this album is brilliant, and if you listen even only to the first one in Depression - Part I you will be able to understand what I'm talking about, but I still want to stress that if the listener is not accustomed to this kind of music and to its bad production (bad for the mainstream idea of music, of course, but appropriate and extremely emotional for this album) will surely hate and destroy this album after three minutes!

Having loved Suicidal Emotions so much, I am forced to advise you to give it a try - if you enter Abyssic Hate's Weltanschauung, I assure you that Suicidal Emotions will still please you even a hundred years from now.

So, I felt as if this record deserved a re-written review because it wasn’t extensive enough for my liking. I’ve been meaning to do it for some time, but better late than never, as they say. After years of waiting, Australia’s one man project, Abyssic Hate, have finally issued the public with a full-length debut. ‘Suicidal Emotions’ is noted as being one of the most overrated record, the most underrated record and the most spectacularly average depressive black metal album of our generation, all at once, no less. There have been conflicting opinions in regards to this particular piece.

Some state that Abyssic Hate are no more than a Burzum clone, whilst others state that this Australian creation are better than Burzum to begin with. In terms of this argument, I think I may sit on the fence. Whilst I do recognise Burzum as probably the most influential artist behind the recording of ‘Suicidal Emotions’, I also recognise the fact that this is obviously it’s own work. It’s not a Burzum record, nor should it be treated like one. Shane, Abyssic Hate’s only member, deserves the credit for making this record, not the imprisoned Varg Vikernes.

The efforts of ‘Suicidal Emotions’ are strict. Each and every one of the songs present on the record follow a fairly strict pattern. That pattern would be called monotonous, repetitive depressive black metal, a style that we would all become accustomed to after a while because it’s popularity caused a surge of bands to spring up since the recording of this notable record. Bands like Abyssic Hate, although they still manage to draw in the ‘Burzum clones’ crowd, are now the influences behind today’s modern scene. In the strictest sense of the word, ‘Suicidal Emotions’ is also a modern day classic, but due to the high number of bands in the genre that have recently ‘hit the big time’, Abyssic Hate can be considered an older timer. The main problems behind the idea of ‘Suicidal Emotions’, for many it seems, is the fact that:

A) Shane uses a drum machine for this record. The fact that a drum machine is present really restricts the creativity of the band, but I believe people must come to terms with the fact that this isn’t meant to be an innovative release in terms of an avant-gardé style. It’s repetitive in more ways than one. From the underlying bass, to the main leads of the guitars. It’s repetitive. It’s meant to be. So if the drums were more advanced than the rest of the music, they would seem out of place.

B) There are those who say that the guitar leads are taken from Burzum songs. I don’t agree, personally. In actual fact, the songs present on this record are by far more appealing that over half of the material Burzum ever wrote. I never did understand the appeal of Burzum to the extent of worship and claiming that every band that has a depressive vibe has taken material from Burzum. It’s ridiculous.

Whilst the drums may not be real, in the sense that there is someone playing them, they are still affective and most definitely serve a purpose. Like the other aspects of ‘Suicidal Emotions’, the drums are a powerful instrument, despite being a drum machine. The repetitive nature enforces the emotive nature of the album, which is a major positive. The guitars especially help with this. They repeat themselves, time and time again in order to indent the sound into our brains. The vocals are special to Abyssic Hate. Of course, they do come down to the good ol’ rasping vocals, but they are very distinctive and recognisable. Shane is a good musician, superbly creating depressive song after depressive song. Anthems in which to kill oneself to, basically. A very strong record that fuses raw emotion with black metal music. A classic.

I can't write a review of this album without mentioning Burzum. Hell, judging by a couple of interviews I skimmed, Shane can't even talk about his own music without mentioning Burzum. It's not a subtle influence, it's outright worship. Even so, my problem with this album isn't that it sounds too much like Vikernes' music, but rather not enough.

Burzum-influenced bands tend to resemble one another more than their inspirator, if anything. Being famously simple music (on the face of it), one might think it would be easy enough to copy, but it there's an ineffable component - Varg Vikernes' talent for unusual, eloquent melodies and flowing compositions - that's always missing from imitators. Even the better ones, like Abyssic Hate here.

In Jurassic Park, the dinosaur DNA collected by the scientists had gaps in it, which they were forced to fill in with frog DNA. When "suicidal black metal" bands clone Burzum, the gaps are usually filled in with old Katatonia. Katatonia's death/doom albums, while not being my favorite examples of the style, are not without merit. Still, they were tuned into a very different emotional frequency than Burzum, and behind the guitar distortion and growling they were almost a closet rock band, at times. Mixed in with with the grandstanding extremity of black metal, we end up with...

All will to live has expired
I just want to fucking die!

[...]

Silently pondering... "Why do I continue on with this life?"
Silently pondering... "When I die, will anyone even notice my demise?"

-- Abyssic Hate, "Depression - Part II"

...we end up with a weirdly conventional take on what unhappiness sounds like, clothed behind a thick film of Filosofem static and presented in somewhat dull, ten-minute songs. It has something to do with the style of melody, I think, and something to do with the fact that my ears can't pick up any really inspired flow to the songs - they sound like riff slideshows. Repetitive ones. Depression parts I and II start off with mournful riffs that any dark metal band could be proud of - they rock, but... "Suicidal Emotions" isn't trying to rock, it's trying to drone. With neither immediate accessibility nor outstanding artistry on its side, this album would appear to lack a clear point of interest.

While the vocal patterns, lyrics, drum sequencing and general D.I. production vibe are the weaknesses of this release, the guitar riffs and composition - whilst simple - is effective in producing long ambient black metal passages that only a few artists like Burzum have done in the past.

Only four tracks but encompassing 50 minutes, Suicidal Emotions celebrates exactly those in all it's similar forms - depression, betrayal and despondency. The music is captivating and uplifting but soaked with despair. Again like Burzum, Abyssic Hate utilises slow brooding repetition to create it's atmosphere, and the faster parts act as a pulse to contribute to this. The main emphasis on the album has been placed upon guitar riffs, which move from being warm and comfortable to chords of harsh sadness - possibly to signify the warped moods of a depressed mental state.

Shane Rout has accomplished a release which should remind black metal listeners that there is not enough of this style available - black metal that embraces classically inspired compositions and large ambient passages to tell its story. Whilst not as supreme as any Burzum release, 'Suicidal Emotions' definitely warrants attention for representing a form of high calibre black metal that a lot of the new wave of "black metal" bands have unfortunately steered well clear of.

Suicidal Emotions is the full length debut from Abyssic Hate. It consists of four tracks, yet clocks in at well over thirty five minutes. No track is below six minutes, tracks one, three and four are the longest. The latter of which being over seventeen minutes.

The music and lyrics of Abyssic Hate revolve around depression and suicide. The music is created for the depressed. The creator believes that upon hearing it, they will take one of two paths, discover why they are depressed, or become overwhelmed by their feelings and simply terminate themselves.

Drums vary from slow to mid-tempo all the way through the album, letting the guitars become the main driving force throughout. Several layers of guitars, each with their own sound blend together forming a sometimes overwhelming 'wall of noise'. However, careful listening or repeated plays allows the listener to witness the construction within. Darkthrone influence tends to dominate all the guitar work. Drums are 'typical black metal' you might say.

The music creates emotion similar to the Burzum albums Hvis Lyset Tar Oss and Det Som Engang Var. Burzum often created anger and emptiness at the same time through Hellhammeresque percussion and layers of guitar repeating themselves over in sections which in turned blended into the next. Abyssic Hate simply reflects that state of depression some listeners may find themselves in. Sections of the song being repeated over and over driven by the guitar, whilst the drum plods slowly in the background. As if a musical manifestation of the thoughts to end one's life constantly running through the mind.

The vocals are harsh, but are quite clear. They seem to neither drive or play with the music, often they seem more like a seperate entity to further push the feelings created by the music.

Both lyrically and musically, the album does appear to play out a person's story, yet cut up and shuffled around a little (see the track order). The final track - Despondency - ends with an outra performed by Raison D'etre. It is rather 'dark', yet seems to act as a final statement. It could even be described as peaceful. The worthless human, overrun by feelings he cannot control has chosen to end his own life.

As a comparison to Burzum, this album is also a polar opposite to Burzum. The Burzum albums mentioned (and the rest, really)... took the songs in a direction, either through the drums, guitars, vocals or keyboards, whereas the tracks on this album do not, they merely continue for 12, 7, whatever minutes then end. The last track is _almost_ an exception, however, it is more a case of the guitars stopping and the electronic outro beginning, there is no sense of connection.

Shane Rout is a great musician and his early works were very good but this time he managed to create a masterpiece.
What we have here is perfect in its depression and agony mid- tempo played Pure Black Metal. A true Art! I'd like to tell you more - it's the quintessence of despondency!

The guitar sound is brilliant for this type of music – a friend of mine described it as a turned on TV without a signal. It's quite similar to Burzum's "Filosofem" one can say. Guitar riffs are very simple, but they are genious in its simplicity. Every riff is drilling your brain and every melody remains in your mind for eternity. All 4 songs here are very long, and Shane uses the same riffs over and over again, but it never gets boring. The one thing I haven't understood here is why the hell Shane uses a drum-machine instead of his own skills. But to be honest I found out that fact only from interview with him, because drum-machine sound is very "human" here, so I don't see a great difference.

Vocals here are geat too. They sound more like a pure agony and they fit perfectly for this music. They are full of pain, sounds of a dying human creature - that's how I should call it. Suicidal emotions is the best way to describe them, though they are sometimes hidden too deep in the mix.

Album lyrics deals with death, suicide, depression. A lot of people call the texts stupid and too much simple, but I wonder why should we search here for the hidden phrases behind the lines? Everything is clear!
«…My cries for help have gone in vain,
No need to endure this endless strain,
My screems of pain seem devoid of sound,
Comfort in death I now have found...” or
«…I'm surrounded by life-loving shapes that exist without a choice,
Your fears of death are covered up by the words "suicide is weak”...»
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Suicidal Emotions – is a kind a hymn to negativity. You can compare this band with Burzum, Shining, Wigrid, but why… Here you won't find such an obscure atmosphere as on «Nocturnal Poisoning» by Xasthur, and don't seek for the uncontrolled schizophrenia as on «Death – Pierce Me» by Silencer. Here we have something more!

I don't recommend to listen just a couple of songs from "Suicidal Emotions". You must take a journey from the beginning till the end - that's the only way to understand the grandiose atmosphere of the brilliant album.

No doubt, It is one of the best Black Metal albums. I don't care what Abyssic Hate will be playing in the nearest future; "Suicidal Emotions" is the album which made a band a true symbol of depressive art. Kill yorself...

German underground label No Colours Records has released an impressive amount of high quality black metal albums the last years. This album is without doubt one of their finest.

Having existed since 1993, it would take seven years until one man band Abyssic Hate would release their debut full length album. It was a much anticipated release, since Abyssic Hate already had released several acclaimed recordings. While many of the underground black metal bands of today often sound like copies of their inspirational sources, Abyssic Hate manages to stand out.

Abyssic Hate plays mid-paced black metal with simple drum work, distorted harsh vocals, and several layers of distorted guitars. The production is raw and unpolished, but every instrument is discernable. The lyrical theme focuses on suicide, built on the belief that the human race doesn’t deserve to live, and therefore should be annihilated. Dramatic, but the lyrics are well written, and reflect thoughts and feelings one easily can relate to. This is where “Suicidal Emotions’” biggest strength lies; creating an atmosphere the listener can relate to. When listening to the album, you experience a feeling of depression and hatred.

The album is divided into four long tracks, the longest stopping at 17:32. Every track consists of droning, melodic and slow guitar riffs being repeated over and over, creating an almost hypnotic effect reminiscent to Burzum’s “Filosofem” album. The pace is pretty much the same throughout the album, but it never gets boring.

This album is obviously not for everybody. If you are only into the symphonic and melodic side of black metal, you should stay away from this. But if you appreciate the ugly and inaccessible sides of black metal, especially Burzum, you should check this out. Highly recommended!