After reading the bio of this album it felt like I was brainwashed. It was like they forced me in liking this band. It showed that this was one of the biggest sensations out there and everybody needed to hear this. They had such a great impression of themselves of being “true metal” and not using lyrics like “come on get down with the sickness” to sell records that I even felt sorry for them. It sure made me curious but you are creating a big expectation with a bio like this.

 

The album starts with ‘The White Fever’; an up-tempo thrash song which sounds not so bad at all. Its a very typical Hatesphere songs, with groovy guitar playing and ditto drumming. The bands trademark style of mixing up up-tempo sections with slower parts still works as good as it always did. The echo in the voice at the ‘Lead by the devil’ piece which comes by twice is quite nice.  Too bad the following two songs aren’t good; actually they are pretty boring. The second song on the disc is too monotone and the tempo of the third song isn’t quite something you would expect on this disc.

 

Too bad listening to these last two songs makes me loose interest in this disc. My mind wanders off only seconds later waking up to my obligation to review this disc. Luckily enough the fourth song gets my attention back completely. Finally some variations and actually a quite nice riff. Once again they use some kind of effect on some vocal parts and this song is one of my favourites; for the curious people, it is the title track ‘Sickness Within’.

 

When I compare this album to the previous work I am disappointed. It is ok to experiment being a band but I think Hatesphere has chosen the wrong elements on this album. Their style of “new thrash” which worked so great on their previous albums takes a hit because of the need of experimentation with a bit more melodic guitarriffs/vocals and the occasional death metal influences. A track which would be a good example of this new sound is ‘Chamber Master’. The playing is great, and it sure is a great metaltrack, but does it really stand out in the big cornfield of  metal? In my opinion, this album is something that a band like Dew-Scented does a whole lot better. Somehow it feels that Hatesphere falls back on their “trick” a bit to much, which makes it hard to keep a fresh mind throughout the album.

 

I must say that I did find a thing that sounded nice. It’s the solo in the end of the last song on the album. It has a Reign In Blood final touch to it, which I can definitely appreciate. Yes there is a but. And the but is that the solo isn’t played by themselves! It’s played by Nevermore guitarist Steve Smyth.

 

When I look back to the entire disc they just can’t live up to the expectations they are creating by sending this bio. What an letdown from one of the few bands that show potential in this extreme genre; and that is a shame if you are realising they certainly aren’t bad musicians, I drew that conclusion when I saw them play.

 

I can only say that this is definitely not what I expected to hear, especially not after hearing the older material. Perhaps it could be due to the fact that they’ve already released an EP this year and they were out of good material. Who knows. I just hope the next release is more like the older material again. Maybe some old Hatesphere fans wont like it either, but maybe the band can win some new ones.