### Driven By Hate: Eight of spades

#### 10/01/11 || Habakuk

Tee-hee… Eight of spades. Get it?

…

Standard operating procedure: Label-sent album comes in. Habakuk reads something like “old school” on the band’s MySpace or something. Claims album, raises hopes slightly. Downloads, listens. Gets angry, activates grumpy old man mode, writes review, deletes album.

Deviation: While this stuff certainly isn’t “old school” from the production and sound of it, it doesn’t make me all angry either. It’s not a one hundred percent run-of-the-mill retro thrash band, at least – they have some rockish/punkish song structures going for them as well, but more like modern Exploited, overpolished, sterile production and everything. Also, if you have heard Chrome Division, you will definitely recognize a few patterns here, including some upbeat, rockish songs with little melodies strewn in, as well the main vocal delivery. There’s another dude that sounds exactly like Tom Araya on Slayer’s newer records, too, by the way. Come again, where is this supposed to sound old school?

“Eight of spades” is somewhat different, alright, but that still doesn’t make it fantastic. The Chrome Division songs are actually the best on this record, the rest gets a bit sameish and exchangeable. Some good parts are present, and “Destroy” and “Survive” actually keep the standards high at song length. The rest is probably cool live, but doesn’t exactly make me wanna run out and buy this album.

And finally, here’s something that does make me angry: Never, ever, ever include women’s moaning in a song (“Ride”), and don’t arrange it through the whole fucken song. It’s not funny, it’s not “sexy” and it’s not provocative in the intended way. The only thing provoking me here is stupidity. And that shit is the most stupid, ridiculous and braindead thing on a CD ever, especially, not exclusively on a metal album. Yeah, your fast guitars are so masculine you make David Hasselhoff shave his chest for you.

There’s actually a genre called porn grind for this shit, which to my understanding was established so we can avoid it entirely. What girl records that shit anyway? Are you getting your girlfriend in for this? Wow. Fuck this, seriously. And don’t fucken record the process. Minus two points.

- Information
- Released: 2010
- Label: Pervade Productions
- Website: Driven By Hate MySpace
- Band
- Mike Hutchings: vocals
- Rick Bierbower: guitars
- Rick Blyn: guitars
- Jon Porpura: bass
- John Franco: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. March of the lambs
- 02. Revolt
- 03. Destroy
- 04. Come with me
- 05. Ride
- 06. Take it
- 07. Survive
- 08. Driven by hate
- 09. Hey you
- 10. High speed Rock ‘n’ Roll
- 11. Eight of spades