:: Hatchet Dawn - Faith In Chaos

Hatchet Dawn

Despite being recorded over two years ago, and featuring a completely different line-up to the one that exists today, Melbourne based groove/blackened metal act Hatchet Dawn has chosen to release their long overdue debut EP ‘Faith In Chaos’. Comprising of five songs, and running for just under a touch under seventeen minutes in total, ‘Faith In Chaos’ isn’t exactly what you would call an honest indication of what Hatchet Dawn are truly capable of these days. But even though the band’s EP is a little inconsistent and unremarkable in places, there’s still more than enough interesting moments throughout Hatchet Dawn’s EP to warrant some attention. The opening track ‘Demon’ is certainly one of the stronger numbers from the band with Adam ‘Loki’ Stewart’s lower register growls and half spoken word efforts providing a befitting darker and menacing tone to the track itself, while the quick change/faster choruses give the song a slight thrash influence at times. The crashing and gritty sounding ‘Consuming Creation’ is a solid piece of blackened thrash that boasts a great breakdown around two thirds of the way through, while the darker and more atmospheric ‘Red Memoirs’ is good, but unfortunately fails to climax at any point towards the end. The huge stand-out on the EP however is ‘The Serpent Order’. It’s on this track that the band’s song writing seems to gel the best, with the varying tempos and mood come together to create a sound that is something quite different from a lot of other acts. The final track ‘Perfect Parasite’ is undoubtedly the E.P.’s second best offering, with the drawn out feel of the guitars and the tribalistic drums adding another dimension to the band’s previously established blackened thrash sound. ‘Faith In Chaos’ isn’t a perfect release, but there’s more than enough to show that there’s plenty of promise within the band’s ranks by the time they release their debut full-length effort.