Haserot The Advent Of Suffering Review
Haserot
Advent of Suffering
Redefining Darkness Records
2026
Texas is no stranger to the global death metal scene. Ask anyone within the know about this particular genre, and I guarantee they will rattle off a few bands from the Lone Star State as their favorites. As the saying goes, there's just something in the water (or maybe it's the BBQ) there that churns out quality. Well, rough and tumble Houston old schoolers Haserot can be added to that list with their first full-length (and second overall) release, The Advent of Suffering.
For proof that these guys mean business, they enlisted Swedish death metal musician/producer extraordinaire Dan Swano (Edge of Sanity, Bloodbath, Odyssey, Hypocrisy, etc.) to mix and master. The mix is full, every vocal and instrument discernible, and has a more pronounced higher end than most stuff similar to this. The main atmosphere is, dare I say, “cold” and mean, not unlike a lot of modern black metal albums, just with a bit more chug and bottom end. Not content to just have one of the biggest underground names behind the board, they also have guest appearances from vocalist Mark Greer (Morgoth) and guitar heroes James Murphy (Death, Obituary, Disincarnate, Testament) and Andy LaRocque (King Diamond). The pedigree here definitely sets a bar.
The Advent of Suffering is eight songs of melodic, moody old school death/doom. Haserot are that rare band that can combine these elements with the previously mentioned black metal motifs, and somehow it just works out beautifully, angrily, and somewhat melancholic in the same breath. Given that these fellas tend to merge all three styles, the songs are not overly long, but they aren't 2-3 minute excursions either. Haserot specialize in cavernous high/low vocals (that could be a bit more up front in the mix to my ears) that recall Jeff Walker, harmonized single note riffing passages, melodic and dark leads, a smattering of keyboards, and tempos that never get snailish, but that never break the sound barrier with their speed as well. Then again, this particular subset of death metal has never relied on blinding fast aggression. No, the brutality comes here from mid-tempo crushers like “Beneath the Calm,” the serpentine riff and double bass gallops of “Madness and the Void.” That's skipping ahead, as the opener and title track does kick off with requisite blazing d-beat and tremolo chugs. That's really the only song that is four on the floor, though. What happens from there is sinister, menacing Finnish styled complexity, barbarity, and slow grooves that are the musical equivalent of quicksand or trudging through a tar pit, and it's fucking awesome. If I am being moderately biased here, please forgive me, but there isn't a bad cut amongst us on this album. Haserot are poised to be mentioned in the same revered breath as such progenitors like Temple of Void, Hooded Menace, Demigod, and At the Gates. Get The Advent of Suffering and let its atmosphere entrance, depress, and make you violently misanthropic all at once….
RIYL - Carcass, Gorguts, Morbid Angel, Hooded Menace, Temple of Void, Bloodbath
~TB