HECATE is one of the latest in the spew of Death Metal bands erupting out of Italy over the last decade or so. Being just 19 minutes long in its entirety, their debut release "Ultima Specie" does not mess around; it launches the listener straight into an auditory onslaught of Death Metal mixed with a bit of Grindcore. After a perfunctory and highly distorted intro, you are directly catapulted into a veritable quagmire of brutal, violent riffage, demonical drumming, and guttural vocals which make up the title track, and which lasts just over one and a half minutes.

Overall, "Ultima Specie" is exactly what you would want out of a Death Metal album; it is vile, aggressive, relentless, ugly, and unforgiving. The song "Infame" very much reminded me of "Combustion Inferno" by KRISIUN with its war-like riffage and chuggy guitar parts, whilst other tracks were more reminiscent of bands such as NAPALM DEATH, with songs such as "Senza Pieta" incorporating more Old School sounds, and with vocals ranging from guttural growls to thinner and forced snarling. I particularly enjoyed the vocals that accompany the opening salvo of "Indignati", which lend the album an animalistic and territorial quality that serves to highlight and differentiate the track from the others on the album.

With the album being mastered by Marco Mastrobuono, the same guy who has worked on releases from well-known bands such as HOUR OF PENNANCE, you know you will be getting a barrage of brutality. And whilst there is perhaps nothing highly original about "Ultima Specie", it is nevertheless a work of pure ruthlessness and viciousness, albeit a rather abrupt and short-lived one. Nevertheless, at the end of it, the listener is left with the distinct impression that if sound could mutilate, then humanity would be exterminated and their rotting corpses consigned to a cesspit. "Ultima Specie" is a strong debut, and with time, I can definitely see HECATE following in the footsteps of their bigger Italian brothers like FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE and HISS FROM THE MOAT.