Have you ever heard of THE LAST PROPHECY?  You most likely have not, but you will once you've listened to their debut EP "Hate Is My Mentor!" THE LAST PROPHECY is a Finnish three-man band, hailing from Espoo within the region of Uusimaa.  They are steadily becoming a force to be reckoned with in the genres of melodic death and thrash metal.  This was proven when THE LAST PROPHECY released two singles last year, "Leave This Life" and "Insomniac." About a year later, on March 22, the band came out with "Hate Is My Mentor." For a band that was only founded in 2021 and has not been signed to a record label yet, "Hate Is My Mentor" is a masterpiece of a 5-song EP.  With overall themes of war and darkness-which are common in the melodic death and thrash metal genres-the 25-minute record is definitely worth a listen.

In the beginning of the EP, with the song "Deranged," the young band starts off with a thrash-like sound.  Henri Toropainen's drumming style and rhythm with his double bass pedals are quite recognizable in thrash metal.  The next track "Dead Forever" continues down this road, though the drumming starts to slow down in its pace, while Joakim Haahtela and Petteri Karinen continue to shred on their guitars.  It seemed that there weren't as many lyrics to balance out the extreme metal instrumentals on the second song, but some listeners may beg to differ on this matter. Nonetheless, on "Dark Sky of the Dawn," the drummer speeds up again like on the first track, bringing forth what might be the most aggressive song from the entire EP.

The second half of "Hate Is My Mentor" seems to be where the group transitions from a punishing thrash metal sound to a slower melodic death metal sound.  The fourth song-which is also the title track-shows Haahtela and Karinen's guitar riffs audibly slowing down, delivering a sound similar to Swedish melodic death bands ARCH ENEMY and IN FLAMES.  In this particular genre of extreme metal, the guitar riffs are known to produce more of a melodic harmony, separating it from the work of brutal death metal bands such as CANNIBAL CORPSE and MORBID ANGEL.  In my opinion, the title track is the record's slowest and heaviest song but no less intense than the other tracks.  "Course of War'' is the final song on "Hate Is My Mentor." It sounded like the death metal sound in this song also had a doom-laden battleground vibe, making this a song that could prepare any soldier for war and a perfect way to bring THE LAST PROPHECY'S debut EP to a close.  Throughout the entire ordeal, Joakim Haahtela amazed me with his vocals, which was somewhere between raspy singing and demonic growling.  To me, this was one way that the band bridged the gap between thrash metal and melodic death metal.

The band is still very much young, having only been around for two years.  Saku Kivirinne, who contributed as the bassist for the EP, has since parted ways with the group.  THE LAST PROPHECY have not been signed to a record label as of today, so they seem to be the sole producers of the EP.  Their next record might sound better with the production of an official record label, but considering the way "Hate Is My Mentor" came out, the band's effort clearly bore fruition. In conclusion, "Hate Is My Mentor" is overall a great start for THE LAST PROPHECY and a sign of greater things to come from them.