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Finally it's out - the highly anticipated debut album from the Death Thrash sensation Hateform. After two strong demos ("Hateform" and "Retaliate") the guys from Turku inked a deal with 7:45 Records and the result is now pressed on a sparkling disk entitled as Dominance.

And damn it, the title is the full agenda! Already with the intro track "Dominion" it's obvious that Hateform are not trying to find a style that might suit them with their first album, they didn't hit the playground for some semi-good prelude, they loaded their weapons for the real business! This is all or nothing! One could think that Hateform were a bit lazy, since the CD includes "I Won't Kneel" from the first demo and the whole "Retaliate" , but those are simply too good and withholding them from the audience would have been a shame! After all there are four new songs (+ intro) and combined with the "old" tracks they make a sovereign album! In fact, those songs -"As God As", "Bled", "Square Zero" and "Less Than A Man"- are awesomely great and the best tracks of Dominance. Every single song is a statement of its own, a ticking bomb reading to explode in front of you. And when you're covered with all the left-overs singer Petri Nyström has spitted into your face, you'll just stand there smiling, lifting your fist into the air.

With Dominance you really get your money's worth. It's of course superbly technical, but what else to expect from such incredible guitarists as Tomy Laisto and Tom Gardiner. It's obvious already after the first listening that everything is perfectly thought-out. Here you don't get any wishy-washy music done by some Roadrunner band while flushing the toilet - here rules quality! If I didn't know it for sure, I'd guess that Hateform have already released three albums! Another thing I really dig is that Nyström made some hearable improvements in his vocal input. The vocals don't sound like "demo" anymore, it's again full pro-effort. The best of Hateform might still be the guitar solos of limelight hog Gardiner. Even though they somehow tell their own story and vault you out of the world of shredding Death Metal, onto a place, where only delightfulness and perfection reign and then dash you back into the typical Hateform pitch, still those endless Dream Theater guitar parts fit into the over-all happening without leaving you dizzied somewhere midway between. Instead Hateform take you on their ride filled with anger, destruction, self-confrontation and of course - hate.

I know everyone is always bragging that "this is the band you were waiting for", but this is really the band and the album you were waiting for, if you have the slightest clue about Death Metal with groovy Thrash and Prog elements. Hateform will be one of the big names some day! If not, I should consider putting down my profession. Now go and grab the CD yourself, then you'll understand why ten points are absolutely essential.

10/10

Alexandra Zischow
Tuskasi

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