“Love the Ones You Hate” is a pop hit masquerading as a doom
metal anthem. And it is bloody brilliant!
Released on 16th November via A Pale Horse Named
Death’s new home, Long Branch Records, the punchy track is the band’s first new
song in nearly six years. Their comeback may have been delayed by frontman Sal
Abruscato’s stint in the reformed Life of Agony, but “Love the Ones You Hate”
suggests the wait was worthwhile.
Evoking the work of Paradise Lost, Type O Negative and even
early Ghost, “Love the Ones You Hate” is pure melancholy condensed into a
surprisingly catchy four-minute chunk. Down-tuned guitar chords give way to
mid-paced percussion and then Sal’s low, clean-sung vocals. “Every time you
said you loved me, / You loved yourself,” the singer solemnly hums out, introducing
a subject matter that is simultaneously dark yet relatable.
The accessibility only ups with the arrival of the first
chorus. The guitar chords and percussion receive a shot in the arm as
despondent hooks sink in and refuse to let go. To conclude the ever-increasing adrenaline, at the song’s end, a monstrous
guitar solo rips through, wrapping up on a grimly energetic high.