Album Review: Divine Chaos – Hate Reactor
Reviewed by Gareth Pugh
Divine Chaos has been a prominent presence in the underground metal scene for many years now, with their 2007 debut EP ‘Every Empire Will Fall’ marking a powerful introduction to their sound. With an average time between releases of around the six to seven year mark, it was nigh time for them to unleash album number three, the much anticipated ‘Hate Reactor’.
2026 sees Jut Tabor remain in the lead vocals role continuing on from the critically acclaimed ‘The Way to Oblivion’ in 2020, where he took over from long standing vocalist Benny Friston in 2019, adding a more refined and yet still aggressive attack, the rest of the band are also consistent with that release, with founding guitarists Matt Gilmour and Chris O’Toole still firmly in place together with the newer rhythm section of bassist Craig Daws and drummer Mariusz Marecki. New into the fold is Chris Clancy, whose stock has risen considerably after working with the likes of Machine Head, Architects and Evile to name a few, and the stellar mixing and mastering job he’s done on producers Scott Atkins recording will only enhance his reputation further by expanding the band’s trademark sound that they established on second album “A New Dawn in the Age of War”.
‘Regicide’ kicks off with a belting riff, slamming thrash patterns and a ton of energy, while Jut shows range with an excellent use of his cleans. The title-track is a full-on djent assault, Mariusz showing his machine-like precision, together with super-tight stop/start riffing yet still has plenty of melody in both the vocals and the always impressive lead guitars. That’s one big difference this time around, whereas the other releases used the guitars to carry or emphasis the melody, on ‘Hate Reactor’ it’s the vocals that do the majority of the heavy lifting. A prime example of this is ‘Condemned to the Void’ where the band start off with acoustic guitars and clean vocals before shifting into a heavier chug, and this juxtaposition continues throughout, to create one of the band’s most powerful and mature tracks thus far.
The band have improved and built on their impressive previous works with mature and cleverly constructed songwriting, resulting in a varied and enjoyable modern metal album, this is a must for those who like their speed and aggression mixed with slower, more menacing grooves, and razor-sharp rhythmic precision, all with a contemporary feel. Great to have these guys back with new music, let’s hope it’s not another six years until album number four!
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