God’s Hate have made an absolutely legendary name for themselves in the hardcore scene, combining members of Twitching Tongues and Constrict, then throwing in pro-wrestler Brody King to top it off, they took the genre by storm with two blistering releases, Divine Injustice EP and the album Mass Murder, back to back. Five years later they’ve decided to bless our ears with their sophomore effort, a self-titled release, God’s Hate.
From the beginning, God’s Hate’s mission statement going into this record was clear – Be Harder. As though it weren’t enough to play the National Anthem right before their intro track, leave it to the minds that be to quote Rorschach, of Watchmen. A tried and true trope of the hardcore genre is to sprinkle quotes of movies or interviews, often to convey a feeling or theme for the song or album as a whole. “No time for friends – only our enemies leave roses. Violent lives ending violently,” clearly establishes the tone we’re about to undertake as we work our way through. Not only is the quote itself indicative of the harshness they set out to display, but it goes a level deeper by being from Watchmen – a story of a post-war America, where the average people are beginning to question those in power, and the civilized streets grow with tension and distrust.
Having an EP and first album under their belt already (let alone the member’s other projects), God’s Hate is no stranger to overt aggression and political/religious stances, but that doesn’t stop them from delving even deeper into the anger than they already have – which is exactly what they set out to do. Their lead single, and first true track of the album, doesn’t hide behind any fancy lyrical gimmicks – it is what it claims to be, a hard song about being hard. “Waste your life and pay the price. Life is hard, be harder.”
“Everything is dead, except for the rage,” another interesting quote to pull that speaks volume for the record, being from the show Battlestar Galactica – a sci-fi show full of political overtones – and specifically relating to a storyline involving a divide between two factions, one of which being regarded as religious fanatics/terrorists. Finish The Job will be an absolute dream once we can safely (so to speak) be in a pit. Hitting us straight in the face with a beat down medley just to follow it up with a two-step, the third track on the record holds no punches.
God’s Hate, their title track, is aptly named and circles back to the roots of the band – loudly and proudly anti-religious. Lyrics like “The more you pay the better your fate,” and “Don’t abort them, so we can extort them,” tackle deeper issues than just blind faith, and more the system in place that favors the rich and, well, extorts the poor; pointing out, from their perspective, the hypocrisy behind organized religion as an entity.
“Iron sharpens iron, I will be your stone,” – Eternity of Hate is a massive stand-out track on this record, as it’s a step away lyrically from their usual means of aggression and anti-religious sentiments. Instead, it’s a reflection of vocalist Brody King’s desire to be better for his son, it’s him coming to terms with the fact that he’s been dealing with anger issues most of his life, and how he doesn’t want his son raised to be the same – to break away from an eternity of hate. The song also features a great clean vocal melody towards the middle, just before breaking into a fantastic solo – a welcome breath of fresh air for the album, starkly contrasted from the rest of the, ironically, incredibly angry lyrics and breakdowns.
All in all, the 5 year wait between records was well deserved with an album packed to the brim with intensity, both lyrically and musically; no track can be left unplayed as you’re consistently bracing yourself through a never-ending barrage of fury, packed full of all the social commentary a hardcore band named God’s Hate can muster. Their goal going into developing this record was to outdo themselves on every level, to create a passion project that surpassed their previous efforts, and I would venture to say they succeeded.
God’s Hate – God’s Hate (3/12/2021)
Track list:
Number One
Be Harder
Finish the Job
Six Feet Deep
God’s Hate
Eternity of Hate
Violence Unlimited
The Valley Beyond
War Man
Social Class Warfare
