Hate fight a ‘war of kings’ – Bellum Regiis

In recent years, Hate have been dipping their feet into different waters since moving away from anti-Christianity or satanic fantasies and this time, philosophical questions affecting humanity is their next destination with the arrival of Bellum Regiis (war of royalty/kings in Latin). Founding member Adam Buszko aka ATF Sinner explains how the band have turned their attention to “nature and its mysteries as a main source of inspiration” with Bellum Regiis asking the question that’s never had an answer and most likely never will, as to why humans are so obsessed with “power, wealth, glory and faith”, including its struggles brought alongside it. Therefore, can something of such complexity be replicated in the form of music?

Without even pressing play, the album cover immediately gives away what we’re in for, featuring a portrait of a powerless king who has “lost everything except his crown” but still refuses to relinquish the throne as only death can overthrow his regime. This isn’t something unfamiliar to our history as all evil leaders have clung onto power at whatever cost until a coup, uprising or war has ousted them.

Opening title track ‘Bellum Regiis’ takes no prisoners with Hate unwilling to show any mercy for listeners who signed up for a one-way ticket to metal hell. What starts off as a gradual cinematic-like buildup consisting of clean guitars, an orchestra and soft female vocals (Eliza Sacharczuk) playing a melancholic melody quickly gives way to eerie whispers before an onslaught of max brutality. Like a hungry hellhound about to eat its next victim in the abyss, Sinner needs no introduction as his vicious death growls could probably make the grim reaper retreat into its shadows for good.

Both Sinner and Dominik Prykiel (Domin) let rip on their guitars, nicely mixing in old school blackened death metal riffs with a melodic touch while Daniel Rutkowski (Nar-Sil) at only the age of 27 is playing like a polished veteran on drums. Young talents may be aplenty but to have mastered an extremely complicated blast beat technique at speeds 270+bpm goes to show that only those who possess that level of finesse can pull it off.

“Tree of Life with branches slowly burning” can be interpreted as the beginning of the end where the king loses grip on power and it’s only a matter of time before his empire crumbles. At the same time, this song highlights how pointless it is to want everything for yourself because it only results in unnecessary wars where many are used as puppets in the hands of those in control “Victors over meaningless greed / We all preach the sermon of the spear!”. In the end, another reign is born but the same old cycle of destruction repeats itself “Spectral voices welcome the dawn of Erebos”. 

If you thought that the rest of Bellum Regis was going to be a melodic blackened death metal experience that’s easy to absorb, then you’re deeply mistaken because it’s all mind games that Hate are playing with their listeners. In fact, this album is far from a walk in the park and the band have cleverly laid out all types of booby traps for us to fall into like Rambo dodging hunters. It’s one of those records where if you don’t read about its background, not even a casual listen will be enjoyable as the key themes need more than one listening session to sink in. ‘Iphigenia’ is concrete proof of that with riffs sounding much more haunted which is typical of the black metal sub-genre, not to mention slower tempos. 

Sinner solidifies his presence where any ifs or buts results in you getting thrown into a fire pit in Dr Evil fashion and it comes across clearly in the mix. He doesn’t have to yell relentlessly like other singers to make his point because his composure does the talking. Nar-Sil might be playing more slowly but the intensity remains, and he doesn’t drop his guard at all with faultless grooves that you can savagely grit your teeth to while listening along. Domim meanwhile, chucks in some cheeky mini solos to add a spark to what’s already an extremely satisfying journey so far.

Iphigenia (daughter of King Agamemnon in Greek mythology) was sacrificed by her father to appease the gods and make way for the fleet to sail to Troy. In this song, Hate use her story as example to show how one can only achieve their ambitions at serious costs “Death will be my marriage, my children and my glory” as well as highlighting how “War is the religion of small hearts and weak minds” which, in other words means that only those who have cold blood start conflicts. However, no matter what side you’re on, courage is what remains the same “One thing remains – thy courage”.

‘The Vanguard’ is a headbanger of a tune, the fastest one of the album with Nar-Sil going on another rampage. There’s nothing but fire in his veins and violence is the only answer to what comes next, so don’t give him any feedback when recording should you wish to get a stick thrown at your head. If you look up a blast beat encyclopaedia, he somehow manages to merge all types into one, whether it be hammer, skank, bomb or gravity and yet not let any ounce of strain seep through.

Sinner mentions that he used Scythian conquests as an example when writing this song in which they used in his words “brutal, ferocious invasive force” while “mercilessly destroying the land of an enemy”. Throughout the entire history of humankind, wars have been fuelled by nothing other than hate and the lyrics sum this all up. “Fueled by godlessness / Pouring hate unto the sacred world” echoes what goes through the minds of perpetrators when carrying out their atrocities, but it can also be a criticism of sacrificing for a futile cause that no god of any religion would approve of. In addition, until the enemy leader doesn’t fall, bloodshed will never stop “There lies hope… on the guillotine!”.

Track number four ‘A Ghost of Lost Delight’ is the last track before the interlude and arguably one of the hardest to concentrate on both sonically and lyrically. It’s where Hate want reassurance that you’ve been paying attention all along to their history lecture because no sob story will convince them by this point. Songs stretching beyond six minutes following unconventional structures are all part of the plan to wear listeners down slowly and painfully as the band want to make you feel that eternal cycle of torture and struggle while refusing to surrender. Topics of life and death are widely discussed with a message that there is hope in darkness “In darkness we crawl toward the starlight / In a race against the flow / We saved our world from oblivion / Ghosts of lost delight… now live!”  

Nar-Sil is at his most versatile by constantly flirting between half and double time, changing tempos at random sections and unexpected pauses to give off senses of delirium. Sinister sounds exactly like his own stage name this time as he shifts his tone to a farscarier one. Thanks to diminished chord progressions and key changes from guitars, he comes across as intimidating and paranoid as if he were the king himself from the cover barking orders at his servants in one last attempt at salvation.

While an instrumental interlude at the halfway point does offer a bit of a breather for listeners, Hate are far from finished salting our wounds. Don’t be fooled by the remaining songs being shorter because they’ve put a different twist on things that make the experience just as painful as the first half of the album. ‘Perun Rising’ picks up right from where they left off. It has the same level of complexity as every other tune consisting of constant fluctuations between odd and even time signatures, sudden orchestral pauses, dark sounding riffs and despite it being just over five minutes long.

‘Alfa Inferi Goddess of War’, the first track to be completed according to Sinner, highlights how we (humans) build an infinite cycle of creating what we destroy “We are creators who create ourselves / By our right” and nurture each other only to be chewed up and spat out once manipulated “She feeds you to grow before she steals your breath”/“An empty promise of salvation to adore”. It’s also a criticism of false hopes that religion and politics usually offer which goes back to the burning question being asked about why we still have a desire for power despite all these factors being blatantly obvious. 

‘Ageless Harp of Devilry’ brings Bellum Regiis to a close in similar fashion to the way it started as Hate inflict the killer blow to scar you for life. Sinner’s mission to cleanse listeners of their sins is finally complete while Nar-Sil’s marathon endurance helps us get over the line with machine gun speed blast beats, double kick hits and 16th note patterns on cymbals. Domin meanwhile joins forces on guitars, showcasing some more frightening riffs that can come out of his possessed instrument to give us chills. Lyrics are a summary of what this album is about in which the so called ‘harp’ is a metaphorical instrument that corrupts its victims who dance along to its tunes “Ageless harp of devilry! Let them dance to thy tune”. When one’s soul finds truth, it’ll then refuse to be indoctrinated again “No god no! Altars ablaze!” / “Raped soul… it won’t regress” and that’s the start of overthrowing the king portrayed at the beginning.

As the saying goes, ‘risk brings reward’ and it couldn’t be any truer because Hate have done what few bands dare to dream about, stepping outside of a genre’s comfort zone to break stereotypes built over time. Their moves have paid off and listeners need to put in extra effort to absorb its layers which can be tiring for some. However, this record will eventually grow on you and become enjoyable.

Bellum Regiis was released on May 2nd 2025 through Metal Blade Records.