When I say that Forged in Hatred by Deathraiser reminds me of Slayer, I don’t mean it in the lazy, shorthand way that gets tossed around every time a band plays fast and angry. I mean it in that very specific, stomach-dropping moment of recognition. The kind you get when you first hear something and it feels genuinely hostile. When I first heard Hell Awaits, my reaction wasn’t excitement so much as unease — like I’d stumbled onto something that wasn’t meant to be safe, friendly, or reassuring in any way. Forged in Hatred triggers that same instinct. This is music that doesn’t want your approval. It wants to see how much punishment you can take before you crack.
Deathraiser aren’t interested in nostalgia tourism or cosplay thrash. This isn’t a band dressing up in denim and bullet belts to play a polite homage to the past. What they’ve done here is tap into the mindset that made early extreme metal feel dangerous in the first place. The riffs are sharp, vicious, and constantly shifting, built less around catchy repetition and more around forward momentum. Songs don’t loop endlessly; they stalk, circle, and then lunge when you least expect it. There’s a real sense of threat baked into the songwriting, like the music could fly off the rails at any moment — and that tension is what keeps it gripping.
The guitar work is the backbone of the record, and it’s absolutely fucking evil. Riffs slash rather than groove, coated in death and malice, while leads snake their way through the chaos with a warped, almost unhinged logic. Solos aren’t there to show off technique; they sound like panic attacks translated into sound, shrieking and spiralling before collapsing back into the main assault. There’s a raw intelligence to how the guitars are deployed — every note feels deliberate, even when the music sounds like it’s trying to tear itself apart.
The rhythm section deserves serious credit for how hard this album hits. The drums don’t just keep time; they drive the whole thing like a runaway engine crashing into a nursery. Fast without being flashy.for the sake of flashy, relentless without becoming monotonous, the percussion gives Forged in Hatred its sense of urgency. The bass isn’t buried either — it powers underneath the riffs, thickening the sound and adding a low-end menace that you feel more than hear. This is the kind of record that rattles your ribcage if you play it loud enough, and it demands to be played loud.
Vocally, Deathraiser hit that sweet spot between venom and command. The delivery is harsh, snarling, and soaked in bile, but it’s never sloppy or unfocused. There’s a sense of conviction here that elevates the whole album — every line sounds like it’s being spat directly at you, not screamed into the void. There’s no irony, no winking at the audience. It’s sincere, ugly, and all the better for it.
Nothing is over-polished either, nothing feels neutered, and the album retains that rough edge that gives it teeth. This is how extreme metal should sound — dangerous, physical, and alive.
What really makes Forged in Hatred stand out, though, is how committed it is to its own brutality. There are no soft moments, no half-hearted experiments, no attempts to broaden its appeal. Deathraiser know exactly what they want to do, and they do it with absolute conviction. This is an album forged from obsession, hostility, and a love for metal at its most uncompromising.
If you’ve ever chased that feeling you got the first time a truly evil record rewired your brain, Forged in Hatred is worth your time. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel — it sharpens it, sets it on fire, and rolls it straight over your skull.
Forged in Hatred by Deathraiser is out now via Xtreem Music.
CHOICE CUT: One Step to The Grave.
BLACK METAL ARCHIVES VERDICT: Hostile, relentless, and dripping with malice, Forged in Hatred taps into the same primal nerve that made Extreme Metal feel dangerous in the first place. No nostalgia, no mercy — just riffs, violence, and conviction.
PRESS SOURCE: Imperative PR.
