Not to be confused with the corpse-painted Poles, this H.A.T.E. (I wish the two bands would synchronize who is going to use periods between the letters and who isn't, as they seem to alternate each album) is from Ohio, been around in one form or another since the 80s and play traditional Americanized metal. Vocalist/guitarist Greg 'Wags' Wagner has spent some time double-dipping, also fronting Cleveland legends Breaker, but in H.A.T.E., he calls the shots. Since this is a long overdue debut, the dozen tracks cover a lot of ground: half being old club favorites (80s style), the others, more recent/modern (and aggressive) sounding, before concluding with a cover of the Riot gem, "Swords And Tequila". While no big fan of cover tunes, mainly because everyone seems to pick the same bands/songs, I'm completely in favor of more Riot!

"Crazed" jumps out of the speakers, guitars cranking and Wags (whiskey/cigarette hoarse voice) singing the praises of Metal. As gritty as the opening cut is, the six-string fury only gets wilder on "Survive", which verges on thrash intensity as it tells of the struggle being homeless (or is it the trials of being in a band?). "Hey Baby" is one of the old school nuggets, opting for a revved up bluesy feel. A sludgy "Love You To Death" makes use of modulated and echoing vocals. The spoken word passages are reminiscent of Dave Mustaine talking to himself. A drum roll and Punky staccato riffing characterizes "Schizo". Cute use of guitar effects to sound like wolf howls in the otherwise disappointing "Packing The Nine", which talks about Transylvanian werewolves.