“Bellum Regiis” relies on the dark aspects of songwriting; the band sets an ominous tone on the eponymous opening track, where the grandeur of the composition can be heard with the soaring female vocals. Vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter ATF Sinner recaptures the sound of the past albums with lead guitarist Domin, bassist Tierme, and drummer Nar-Sil delivering a powerful performance.

The album indeed sounds fresh, and the unabated brutality seems to blend darker blackened riffs to add flavor to the grandiosity of the music in the following song, “Iphigenia” treat fans with a tremolo picking then the monstrous growls of ATF Sinner pouring into a crushing blackened sound and leading the song into a mid-tempo heaviness.

The album is epic in scale, both in songwriting and musical direction, and is drenched in atmospheric black metal. However, Hate still maintains the aggression that they always had. The black metal riffing is apparent in several songs, if not all, by presenting interesting ideas and intriguing elements that keep building momentum with the solid drumming patterns.

Besides the extreme musical inclinations of the band, which haven’t changed since their inception, the new opus manages to sound more epic, the inclusion of the female vocals resulting in excellent versatility. The use of orchestration to boost the sonic textures is something that the band hasn’t done before. The impenetrable brutality seems to be well-balanced with the atmosphere on “The Vanguard”.

The catchiness of such songs is similar to Greek atmospheric death metal band Septic Flesh, the music swells to hellish aggression when the band mixes orchestration, samples, acoustic guitars, and female vocals. “A Ghost of Lost Delight” maintains the blackened spectrum but Hate crafts a new niche for itself in the genre of modern extreme metal, the polished quality of the production highlights the instruments from the epic solos and pounding bass lines, while still being able to expand on the atmospheric riffs and the groovy heaviness.

The composition swirls massively into sinister and blackened riffs while still relying on the deep roaring vocals and brutal drumming as they rumble vibrantly. Every track is balanced between dynamics and black metal elements, which gives a grandeur effect. “Perun Rising” employs mid-paced riffs and double drum pedal kick, and the gloomy tremolos dominate, and then moves into brutal aggression off solid riffing and thunderous drums.

The demonic growling and the riffing onslaught hark back to Hate’s familiar territory, though it’s hard to differentiate between the songs because the music contains a similar song structure. The drums and guitars enhance the cold, blackened atmosphere, especially presented on the album’s grandiose song “Alfa Inferi Goddess of War”. It starts with blazing blackened riffs when the drums bring an incredible energy with the sporadic blasting sections and adding to the intensity of the songs, Hate honed an unrelenting piece of Slavic brutality.

“Prophet of Arkhen” is incredibly powerful and brutal, like the previous song, but it mixes the plodding heaviness that is backed with a rich blackened guitar tone, incorporating epic segments, and there is a catchy rhythm layer in these songs. The black metal influences of the riffing in the final song “Ageless Harp of Devilry” are notable; there are no gimmicks found on this track. Hate keeps the solid rhythm intact while injecting a blackened aggression.

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