Whenever I think of anything progressive in the world of metal, my brain tends to lean towards acts like Gojira or Allegaeon who have really pushed the modern limits for the style and thus have individually garnered throngs of fans. It’s always entertaining to see someone execute a dazzling set seemingly with ease or just make an entire song a real dance across the fretboard. Something like that will always keep me coming back time and again, and even though HateVirus may not be as flashy as some of us might want they don’t lack an ounce of potency because of that.

One of the things I’ve always appreciated about this style is how the music never really lingers in the same place with the same sound or rhythms for too long in order to keep everything moving, yet without the ensuing material feeling forced or rushed as, most of the time in my experience, feels incredibly organic all the while. That’s something newer bands will really have to get a solid grip on in order to keep the listener entertained while still providing the goods, and that’s precisely what HateVirus has accomplished with their flavorful debut album. While I find the vocals just a tad too smooth for my liking and not quite as much diversity amongst the track that I’d prefer, there’s incredibly little that isn’t worth sinking your teeth into with “Hateful Mind” in its practically hour-long runtime that absolutely devastates from beginning to end. We’re given a calculated and vast debut of ten tracks that really know how to provide us with more than enough progressive elements to get our fix in, but it’s not as prominent which I find more than understandable for a debut. Baby steps, man. It all then comes together where there’s plenty of hooks and interesting morsels that allow “Hateful Mind” to grow all on its own to become immensely organic as well as an album that’s not to be scoffed at or looked down upon as HateVirus has done a real bang-up job here to make their first full-length something to be proud of.

Where many other bands of the style tend towards the idea that a flashier sound makes for a better album, HateVirus opts for a more powerful and calculated approach that only aids in showing us the prowess behind this act. It’s with “Hateful Mind” that we get a solid step into the world of music for this band, and it’s with “Hateful Mind” that we can surely look towards the future of this band with plenty of excitement.

LISTEN to “Hateful Mind” on Bandcamp here.

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