Top Bar
Musique Machine Logo Home ButtonReviews ButtonArticles ButtonBand Specials ButtonAbout Us Button
SearchGo Down
Search for  
With search mode in section(s)
And sort the results by
show articles written by  
 Review archive:  # a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Hateful Abandon - Liars/Bastards [Candlelight Records - 2014]

Candlelight Records presents Liars/Bastards, the third album by Bristol’s Hateful Abandon. The brainchild of one Vice Martyr, Hateful Abandon has been toiling in the dark crevices of the European underground since 2004.

It’s funny, some adages are so painfully obvious that they are hardly worth the mention. However it pains me to say, with Liars/Bastards, you truly can’t judge a book by it’s cover. Going into this review, I had no idea what Hateful Abandon sounded like. For some reason, my gut instinct was that they were some flavor of metal. While Hateful Abandon touches on elements of metal, to my surprise, they actually sound more like the bastardized mating of Joy Division and Killing Joke. That my friends is a wonderful thing. The album transpires with a heavier and more experimental flair, than the aforementioned bands, but the influence is undeniable. That said, every single track on this album has it’s own distinct approach and Vice Martyr’s vocal stylings have quite a varied range.


Liars/Bastards contains 7 tracks and is in no short supply of gems. As a matter of fact I thoroughly enjoyed each piece, but there are several standouts. The album’s opening salvo, “Maze of Bastards,” is built on a foundation of: eerie synthesizer sounds, clashing percussion, the repetitive clanging of a pipe, and Martyr’s vocals at their most strained. “High Rise,” relies on post punk guitar and bass stylings, and sine wave peaks and valleys. “The Test” would fit nicely on The Cure’s Pornography album, and here Martyr’s vocals even sound Robert Smith-esque at times. Perhaps my favorite piece on the album is “The Walker,” which is also the most Joy Division influenced piece, right down to the icy Ian Curtis vocal stylings.

All in all a strong outing from this Bristol-based chap. Every cut had it’s own personality, honoring Martyr’s influences, while never truly sounding like a retread. That’s no easy task, but Hateful Abandon manages to pull it off swimmingly well. A solid album through and through

Rating: 4 out of 5Rating: 4 out of 5Rating: 4 out of 5Rating: 4 out of 5Rating: 4 out of 5

Hal Harmon
Latest Reviews

Hateful Abandon - Liars/Bastards
Candlelight Records presents Liars/Bastards, the third album by Bristol’s Hateful Abandon. The brainchild of one Vice Martyr, Hateful Abandon has been toilin...
290324   Piranha - Piranha(DVD)
280324   Typhoon Club - Typhoon Club(B...
270324   Jerzy Skolimowski Collection ...
260324   Latex Choker - Sealed
260324   Occlusion - 59: No Input Wall
260324   Nihil Impvlse - Anabasis
260324   Marta Forsberg - Sjunger För...
260324   The New Boy - The New Boy( Th...
250324   The Stargazer’s Assistant - ...
250324   Liza Lim - Annunciation Trip...
Latest Articles

The Music of Clay Ruby & Burial H...
Over the last couple of decades Wisconsin native, Clay Ruby has been creating some of the world’s finest dark electronic music under the Burial Hex mon...
280324   The Music of Clay Ruby & Buri...
290224   Sutcliffe No More - Normal Ev...
100124   Occlusion - The Operation Is...
181223   Best Of 2023 - Music, Sound &...
051223   Powerhouse Films - Of Magic, ...
181023   IO - Of Sound, Of Art, Of Exp...
210923   Lucky Cerruti - Of Not so Fri...
290823   The Residents - The Trouble W...
110723   Yotzeret Sheydim Interview - ...
250523   TenHornedBeast - Into The Dee...
Go Up
(c) Musique Machine 2001 -2023. Twenty two years of true independence!! Mail Us at questions=at=musiquemachine=dot=comBottom