The Pitch: Southern Lord and Daymore Recordings join forces to release Hatred, the ferocious debut from "mysterious" Japanese hardcore and grindcore act Friendship. FFO: Endon, Nostromo, The Apex
What I Like: Friendship are another one of thos bands that can largely be summed up in one word: in this case, "raw." Hatred, as the name suggests, is a no frills, no bulls#!t slice of bitter hardcore and grind with no regard for your eardrums or well-being. They waste no time getting to the point with their short runtimes and overall album length clocking in at just a hair over 25 minutes. The production is about as polished as a backwoods gravel road. Everything sounds as if it was recorded live through an old microphone and well-traveled PA system...the way any self-respecting grind record should be. The vocals are intense, the guitars noisey. Listening to this album conjures images of concrete slabs and dried bloodstains. Friendship don't do "'ships," and there will be no survivors.
Critiques: I can't yet attest to the staying power of this album, but it does feel a little on the generic side for all of its carnage. This is a band that should focus in on what makes them stand out from other bands in the genre.
The Verdict: Hatred will rip your goddam throat out and feed it to the dogs. Friendship aren't the most imaginative of groups, but they may just be one of the most vile and aggressive. If you enjoyed Sounding, Full of Hell, or Sunlight's Bane, you should definitely check this out.
Flight's Fav's: Tortures, Life Sentence, Regiside
-Review by FlightOfIcarus
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