H.A.T.E.

H.A.T.E.
By: Nico 2007.11.10

Metal Forever
Wagtime Records/ Eigen Beheer

H.A.T.E. oftewel Halfway At The End is een van de vele bands die ik ontdekte via de wondere wereld van MySpace. De band trok vooral m'n aandacht vanwege zanger (en hier ook gitarist) Greg 'Wags' Wagner die sommigen mogelijks kennen van Shatter Messiah. Enkele mailtjes later viel "Metal forever" in de bus. Muzikaal gezien bevindt H.A.T.E. zich in hetzelfde muzikale straatje van Shatter Messiah. Pure US power metal met hier en daar wat thrashy invloeden. Met als enig verschil dat H.A.T.E. iets eenvoudiger weg luistert en wat meer rechttoe rechtaan klinkt! Grappig genoeg bevindt Curran Murphy (bandleider Shatter Messiah) zich ook binnen de gelederen van H.A.T.E. Dus weet ik niet hoe serieus deze band is. Maar dat is nu niet aan de orde. Het feit is dat dit een lekker schijfje is dat al vaak zijn rondjes heeft mogen draaien. En met zijn veertien tracks zit dit debuut alvast lekker gevuld en goed voor zo'n 65 minuten luisterplezier. Op de bands MySpace kun je alvast 2 tracks beluisteren, namelijk "This bullets 4 you" en "Metal forever". Zonder meer twee van de betere nummers. Maar met "Bleeder", "Island of none", "Twist of hate" en "Trial to lunacy" bevat de cd nog een hoop headbang voer. Ik zou zeggen: hou je van US power metal en ben je weg van Shatter Messiah, dan kun je niet om dit schijfje heen. Via de bands website kom je meer te weten over hoe je dit schijfje kunt bemachtigen.
http://www.wehateu2.com of http://www.myspace.com/halfwayattheend

87 Nico
- HELLSPAWN

H.A.T.E. - Metal Forever (CD) USA October 2007 Mario van Dooren
Style: US Metal Running time: 1:04:36 (Tracks: 14)
A few years ago I could review nearly every month a project or band of my friend in metal; Greg Wagner (ex-Archetype/ex-Breaker). Since he joined Shatter Messiah he is very busy with this great band and for his solo and other stuff is less time left. Years ago Greg already had a band called H.A.T.E. and finally he has found some spare time to re-activate this band. Nowadays the line-up has changed a lot and we find some bandmates back who are also in Shatter Messiah (Curran Murphy f.e.). There is also a guest appearance of Lou St. Paul (Wintersband) on this album. Musically it all sounds more old-school than Shatter Messiah but I also hear some Pantera/Machinehead riffs back in some of the songs. The production of this self released album is nice and was recorded at Curran Murphy's private studio. I realy think that H.A.T.E. has the qualitys to become bigger but for that they really need a good recordlabel and distribution because otherwise it all will stay underground. So hopefully a good label will pick up this band! H.A.T.E. sounds to me as a mix of bands like: Metal Church, Overkill & Pantera; so if you like these bands; check H.A.T.E. out!! Personally I also hope that Greg Wagner will also re-activate his Buzzkiller project because that was my personal fav. band of him!
Fav. songs: 'Isolate the Exiles', 'Assassin'.
Visit their website: http://www.wehateu2.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/halfwayattheend
85/100
- MARIOS METAL MANIA

METAL TO INFINITY
Reveiwer: Stefan Sileghem

My desire to excellent US Classic Metal music is granted once again with a band like H.A.T.E.! Greg 'Wags' Warner (former frontman of Archetype and Breaker) and Chuck Ruszin (bass) formed the band in 1988. Touring across the United States with bands like U.F.O., Saxon, Metal Church, Overkill, etc...H.A.T.E. booked very positive criticisms those days. Everyone whom had the chance to see these men doing their duty on stage knew immediately that their future was insured.

Unfortunately H.A.T.E. did not arrived where many had hoped on. Okay, they were awesome during live performances, made awesome songs back then but did not get the opportunity to sign a contract. Contemporary, it's damn hard to become approaches by a record company, well believe me on my word...way back in time it was a true nightmare, much more difficult to catch a record label! But alright, the band wants to play Metal which they did very well. Real Metal musician's ambitions coming straight from the heart and never give up the fight, whatever it takes. Pity enough a deadly silence came knocking on the band's door and the future doesn't look too good those days. Was it the end of a great Heavy Metal outfit?

Hell no because after 17 years, H.A.T.E.'s resurrection is a fact people! Original builders Greg and Chuck are back in business to kick some ass, back for more and how!? Guys teamed up now are original drummer of Reel Steel, Michael 'Hazard' Harris and Curren Murphy (former Annihilator / Nevermore and current guitarist of Shatter Messiah). Eventually, H.A.T.E. has succeeded bringing out their own album entiled "Metal Forever" which is a superb, independent work that brings me personally in an overwhelming trance. You are taken in a seizure right from the start till the bitter end. Guys, THIS IS AWESOME!!!

14 tracks, both old and new ones played in a manner...it feels like i'm stoned again! US Classic Heavy Metal to enjoy with heart and soul. First, i was immediately knocked out by the impressive way of singing (Jon Oliva meets David Wayne), delivered by Mr. Greg Wagner. Armed with incredibly seizing vocal skills and the way this guy plays guiter takes me outta control! Actually, there are three axemen"Metal Forever" contains three prepared to grant their skills to this CD.

Besides the previously mentioned Curran Murphy (Shatter Messiah), also guys like Lou St. Paul (Wintersbane!) and Nick Giannakos (Wretch, Breaker, Auburn Recording artis!). It's just brilliant to hear how so many superb guitar riffs / solo's infest your speakers. I can't get enough of this album!! You should hear the combined actions of both bass and drum duties...words really fail me to discribe what i feel inside while i'm playing this album. This must be 'without a doubt' the springboard, concerning signing a more than deserved record label. In any case, i stand entirely behind these guys because it's my personal favourite style of music in the first place, point two: their skills to gain a very high level.

Bands crosses my mind while listening mostly belong to the 80s Metal scene such as: Meliah Rage, early Savatage/Metal Church, Premonition, Wretch, Doctor Butcher, Sacred Oath,..."Metal Forever" disturbs me on non area which means that i'm completely satisfied with this reult. A one-hour Metal work...certainly and permanently, i'm sure that a continuation is on the way. Michael Harris let me know that H.A.T.E. are returning to the studio to begin work on a sophomore album in hope to pick up by a label.

Meanwhile, you can already order "Metal Forever" via: www.myspace.com/halfwayattheend or http://cdbaby.com/cd/hatemetal . Feeling yourself called to offer the album in the CD store nearby, send an email to: info@wehateu2.com for all further regulations. An album with a lot of class and musical wisdom, it goddamn makes me speechless!!.

GREAT / AWESOME / SUPERB on all areas. Order right away!!! MY POINTS: 98 / 100

http://metaltoinfinity.00freehost.com/HateCDreviewMetalforever.html

- Metal To Infinity (Belgium)

I came across H.A.T.E. (Halfway At The End) a few weeks ago while browsing thrash releases at CDBaby.com. The band originally formed in 1988, disbanded in 1992 and recently got back together, and "Metal Forever" is their first full length.

This is heavy/thrash very much in the vein of early Metal Church (say, the first three albums.) It is more of a stylistic similarity than actually sounding like Metal Church, so no need for the paranoids among you to start screaming "ripoffs!", alright? ;) The vocalist is like a non-nasal version of David Wayne, sharing a pretty similar style. He is definitely one of the highlights of the album, boasting very clean vocals, both powerful and melodic and his performance is nearly perfect. There's usually something that'll annoy me with the vocals over the span of an album, but this is one of those rare times when there weren't a few seconds when I didn't want to strangle the vocalist. Quite a feat considering the album is just over 64 minutes in length.

The guitars are all over the place, mixing such styles as mid-80s Metallica and Metal Church, and early 80s NWOBHM à la Iron Maiden and Saxon. The drums sound a bit muffled at times, but not to the point of affecting the listening experience. "Metal Forever" sounds old school with a modern production, and the songwriting style is parachuted directly from the 80s (my guess is that at least some of this material was written back then.) The album might be lengthy, but fear not, none of the songs here are filler garbage - although I must note that a few songs end with a few seconds of silence, don't know what's up with that, but you faithful readers know how much that gets on my nerves. ;) There's a lot of variety on display on the 14 songs presented here, from "semi-ballads" all the way to take-no-prisoners thrash attacks. Highly recommended.

http://www.metalcrypt.com/pages/reviews.php?revid=3278


- METAL CRYPT

H.A.T.E. - Metal Forever


(Wag Time Records) Total Time: 64:36

More than 15 years passed for H.A.T.E. to release their first full length album. For those that don’t know the band, H.A.T.E. was originally formed in 1988 and they quickly reached the top of the American underground scene by playing as support act for bands like Nazareth, UFO, Saxon, Metal Church and Overkill.

The album has a really classic and maybe cliché but still true title. It is called “Metal Forever”. The music style of H.A.T.E. and “Metal Forever” furthermore, is a mixture of old-school N.W.O.B.H.M. with some thrash elements. When the band picks up the tempo, it looks that they really kick ass. On the other hand, in some slower parts they don’t have anything special. One of the songs that I really distinguish from the others is “Dungeon” while “Assassin” is great too. The album in overall is quite good with great guitar sections who are performing excellent with great riffs and awesome solos and that’s a good work of lead guitarist Curran Murphy (-ex Shatter Messiah) who was also a session guitarist of both Annihilator and Nevermore. On the other hand, I wished for a better cover. It’s not the most important part for an album but it is a way to show a professional work and win the first impressions. In addition, I think that the album loose it’s greatness cause it is too long (64:36 minutes) and that has as a result to be a little bit boring and mediocre. They could choose fewer songs to distinguish the bests for a most perfect total. It’s not necessary and it’s not easy to have 13 songs on high levels in your first release. It’s a good try but we wanna see more. Let’s see their next work.


Reviewer: Panagiotis Karagiannidis

Rating: 3.5
Related Link: H.A.T.E.'s official site

Added: December 24th 2007

Views: 160

- METAL INVADER

H.A.T.E. - Metal Forever 2007 ( EIGENPRODUKTION )

Ursprünglich gegründet wurde diese Band, deren Name als Abkürzung für HALFWAY AT THE END steht, vor knapp 20 Jahren von den Herren Greg Wagner (Gesang, ex-BREAKER, jetzt bei SHATTER MESSIAH) und Chuck Ruszin (Bass). Damals, also gegen Ende der 80er Jahre, war die Band zumindest in ihrer Heimat Ohio ziemlich angesagt und konnte im Osten der Vereinigten Staaten nicht nur zahlreiche Gigs spielen, sondern sogar einige Tournee absolvieren, unter anderem zusammen mit METAL CHURCH, SAXON und OVERKILL.

Im letzten Jahr hat Chuck und Greg die Liebe zu dieser Band erneut gepackt und zusammen mit Drummer Mike Harris und Greg’s nunmehrigem SHATTER MESSIAH-Kumpanen Curran Murphy haben sie H.A.T.E. erneut zum Leben erweckt. Curran ist es auch, der den sehr gelungenen Old-School-Metal der Truppe durch sein mitunter recht harsches Riffing mit einem zusätzlichen Anstrich versehen hat, durch den „Metal Forever“ zwar eindeutig als klassischer Metal in traditioneller Ausführung aus den Boxen donnert, sehr wohl aber auch den Sprung in die „Neuzeit“ schaffen konnte. Über Greg’s Sangesleistung gibt es erneut keinerlei Grund zu meckern, seine irgendwo zwischen dem jungen Jon Oliva und dem frühen David Wayne anzusiedelnde Stimme treibt dem Traditionalisten eher die Freudentränen in die Augen. Aber auch die Rhythmusabteilung weiß durch mächtige Soundteppiche, die eine massive Basis darstellen, zu beeindrucken. Neben Curran sind es auch noch die Gäste Lou St. Paul (WINTERS BANE) und Nick Giannakos (u.a. WRETCH), die auf „Metal Forever“ ebenfalls für wohlige Gitarrenklänge sorgen und dieses Album zu einem wahren Festmahl für US Metal-Fetischisten gedeihen lassen!

(US METAL RULES WITCHLORD )

www.myspace.com/halfwayattheend

WALTER

- GLADIATORS OF METAL MAG.

Review of Battering Ram by H.A.T.E.
Genre: Metal 3.2

Hell yeah!
Dudes, this is good shit! Great vocals! Ripping guitars! Tons of leads! Yes! I would buy this! It's a nice change from the ten billion metalcore bands that are out right now. Dude your guitars really rip! I can't say it enough. This is good metal. Bravo, dudes!

Extra Credit: Male Vocals, Guitars, Production, Melody, Most Rocking Track.

- mooniac666
Grand Junction, Colorado
November 22nd, 2006
- Mooniac666/ Colorado

Review of Bleeder by H.A.T.E.
Genre: Metal 3.0

Old metal is still alive
Fantastic drums, I really enjoy your drummer's performance, tight and full of technique.
Heavy guitars, sharp as a knife, old school metal at its best, including some amazing solos full of technique
The song reminds me of Manowar a lot, vocals are top class, pure metal with a high tone...the bassist does one hell of a performance too!
Musically speaking the members of the band are outstanding.
The arrangement is mature, and I bet my right hand that this isn't a teengager band. The band sounds experienced.
Production is excellent, very professional.
Great tune!

Extra Credit: Male Vocals, Guitars, Drums, Production.

- BraindeadZero
Madrid, Spain
November 26th, 2006
- GarageBand.com