Life Hates Me bring a dead on assault and vision of anguish and aggression coupled with deft musical ability and well devised song structure. Similarities don't cast well over this band and nor do comparisons, listening to the CD no other bands spring to mind and this is definitely a good thing. The music brings forth agitated vocals over moderately experimental guitars, air tight song structures and pummeling drums. Sean's vocals are intense, there is variation between screaming and constrained verses but during all times the vocals sound grippingly disturbed. A seething anger and despise for life's letdowns and cons shine's through in the majority of vocals and with it done so authentically averse sounding, it's hard not to intake the odium purveyed. Guitars make staunch use of piercing harmonics, coupled with riffs and some lavish effects, although there is experimentation at play for the most part the guitar is focused on a strong solid riff and rhythm and doesn't stray far from it's goal of violently jabbing the songs into the listeners ears. Bass is solid with most parts mimicking the guitar and not flowing out from underneath wall of sound, instead it's focused mainly on strengthening the foundation of the music. Drums are used to persistently pound the listener back, instead of focusing on snare work or rolls, the low tuned kick pedal is put into heavy use and really darkens the bands sound and compliments the style. Musically the band has a tight song structure, although not the cleanest progression, being that parts tend to overlap and it feels a bit constricted but in general the band has a good process to venting their feelings through music. Standout tracks would be "Swell" which is a hypnotic track laced with an effect being used that sounds like a bass being bowed, definitely a fresh feel to the track and when it's coated with a blistering chorus the track easily becomes a gem of a song. "Relapse" is another highlight, the band rolls out their more detached calming side, yet although the song is a slower number, it manages to keep the listener questioning what's going to take place by constantly treading upon the edge of completely letting loose and eventually does so gracefully throughout the choruses. The CD is indeed a great indication of things to come and the band is unquestionably talented and do hold a distinct sound, on the downside though a bit more experimentation could help their style be that much more powerful, a bit more use of the whole drumkit could also help to thicken out the sound although it still is refreshing to hear a kick drum focused approach. Life Hates Me have a recipe for a devastating auditory bombardment of heavy tormented groove metal, with a little bit more ingredients and time to brew, it would be hard for their finished product not to win over even the most jaded music connoisseur.
(4 / 5)