Band:	Depths Of Hatred
Album:	Inheritance
Style:	Deathcore
Release date:	March 2021

01. Enslaved Through Lineage
02. Sadistic Trials
03. Pulsating Rhythm
04. Fastidious Imitation
05. Drop Of Red
06. Illusive Obsession
07. The Gift Of Consciousness
08. Shivers
09. Inheritance
10. The End Of Ourselves
11. Emerging As One

There are few things in life more disappointing than watching a band's potential plummet like a pump-and-dump penny stock.

Depths Of Hatred haven't yet crossed the threshold into metal mainstream territory a la provincial compatriots Kataklysm or Cryptopsy, as they're perhaps better known to those familiar with the likes of Despised Icon and Beneath The Massacre, but there was a time when that possibility wasn't unthinkable. Hellborn, the quintet's sophomore release, showcased significant improvement in the songwriting department compared to their debut just two years prior, elevating their status as a legitimate contender among their peers. With a nuanced balance of melody and brutality, their catchy and technical take on the deathcore genre wasn't an inherently unique approach, but it did sound specific to them. Unfortunately, that linear progression would come to an abrupt stop with a rather jarring shift in vocal responsibilities, as bearded beast Dominic D.D. came to be replaced by current frontman William Arseneau.

Newly appointed vocalists are often accompanied by complaints of stylistic shifts -- despite there not typically being great involvement in that area -- and in this instance it appears that Depths Of Hatred wanted to invite Arseneau in to their established persona as opposed to developing a new one to benefit him. This creates a somewhat problematic (or at least divisive) formula, as anyone hoping for a continuation of Hellborn will be granted some degree of satisfaction musically, but the vocal deviation is substantial enough for the change-averse to completely dismiss the band as an entirely separate entity. The usual checkbox items are still there in terms of the brutal aspects, but the whiny clean vocals and higher pitched gutturals almost go out of their way to alienate themselves from the rest of the band. It isn't so much that any particular elements are processed poorly as the blending of these opposing ingredients makes for a beef trifle, like taking what you believe to be the best attributes of Killswitch Engage and Arsis and haphazardly throwing them together expecting greatness, but instead creating a diametrically uncomfortable experience for the listener.

Depths Of Hatred are far from a band deserving of being discarded, and their partnership with Prosthetic Records should assist in marketing their music slightly outside of the underground Canadian crowd, but so long as this awkward smattering of intricately crafted modern deathcore and mid-2000s teen-targeted melodic metalcore exists, it's difficult to imagine a world where the band achieves heights of a greater nature.