Going into the world of deathcore is always a bit of a coin toss if you ask me. There are so many acts out there that just aren’t trying whatsoever that crowd around bands that actually do something that can be considered at least solid, and it’s far more often that the trash floats into our field of view. But, sometimes we get something that’s actually worth some of its own salt, and while they missed the mark in a few spots for me, it’s here that Hated does a decent job that’s given me the first survivable piece of deathcore I’ve heard in a while.

Now, that makes it sound like I enjoyed the majority of what “None Are Equal” brings to the table, and while I didn’t hate it by any means whatsoever, it’s not unoften that this work falls in the middle for me many times with swinging from one side to the next at any given moment. When it comes down to the actual musical content that’s brought forth here, there’s nothing that I heard throughout the album that makes me want to throw it in the fucking trash and light it on fire. It’s solid, it’s heavy, it’s catchy at times, and it has that power that deathcore often has but is wielded with deadly purpose all throughout here. That being said, it’s with the lyrical content that just feels uninspired and catered to the angsty people that listen to it with way too much seriousness, but while that’s a small hurdle I can easily step over like any other over-the-top and cheesy Cannibal Corpse lyric, it’s with the audio clips that everything falls apart momentarily for me. Indistinct screaming, children screaming for their mother over the phone, and more make this album feel unnecessarily grimy to make the songs feel edgier, but the songs would’ve felt much stronger if they either just ended or kept going without the inserts. It makes “None Are Equal” fall apart one small piece at a time, but it’s by the end of the record that Hated end on a decent note given the rest of what Hated drops before us isn’t that bad even if you look at it from a pessimistic view.

It’s impossible for me to say whether or not Hated really, really wanted to put in some of the bad aspects of this album out of a genuine desire to put them in their works or to appeal more to deathcore fans, but I really do think that they can learn from such missteps and make future efforts stronger because of that knowledge. Hated has much to learn, but there’s no denying that the spectacular moments spread throughout “None Are Equal” can make for something interesting should Hated just know how to wield it better.

LISTEN to “None Are Equal” via YouTube here or below.

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