The adventure in listening to The Project Hate MCMXCIX (the Roman numerals equate to 1999, oddly enough the year after the band released their first album) has always been discovering just how they’re going to push the limits of death metal this time. Sure, the Swedish outfit have definitely developed an aesthetic over the course of their eight studio offerings, but they’ve never lost sight of the lines they want to cross either, and the cumbersomely titled Bleeding The New Apocalypse (Cum Victriciis In Manubis Armis) is no exception.
Right off the bat, The Project Hate MCMXCIX are going to prove too self-indulgent for many listeners. Led by the duo of multi-instrumentalist Lord K Philipson (God Among Insects, ex-Misery) and vocalist Jörgen Sandström (ex-Grave, ex-Entombed), and rounded out by guitarist Anders Bertilsson and newfound members drummer Tobias Gustafsson and vocalist Ruby Roque, the way The Project Hate MCMXCIX blend death metal, progressive-mindedness and dark electronica is overwhelming at times, Roque’s operatics only adding to the onslaught. There are a few instances on Bleeding The New Apocalypse where the death metal crunch takes over, sort of life-rafts of straightforwardness, but otherwise, the record sets up a seemingly impenetrable wall of sound, guarded by one disparate approach after another.
However, in true The Project Hate MCMXCIX form (if such a thing exists), it also completely works across these six extended tracks. Just know that, if you’re feeling brave enough to take it on for a few listens, Bleeding The New Apocalypse is a hefty listen that’s going to take some time to really sink in. The cliché “not for the faint of heart” rarely applies so well.
In A Word: Complex
