They say imitation is the highest form of flattery. Well, if that’s the case, Lord K Phillipson and his entourage in The Project Hate, should be flattered as fuck by Canadian Robert Kukla and his band, Arbitrator and the debut full length album, Indoctrination of Sacrilege.

Now don’t get me wrong-I have no problem with flattery, homage and influence, even ones as heavy handed as this, though I’m sure the always outspoken Lord K may think differently. And, as a matter of fact, in all the homages and rip offs I’ve enjoyed, especially the many, many Swedish death metal ones, I have to respect Kukla for going for a far less obvious choice and one I’ve actually yet to hear copied elsewhere (though I did recently get a promo for an Italian band called Embryo who also have some Project Hate-isms, proving the Deep Impact/Armageddon theory exists in music also.

Let’s run done the check list shall we?  Big, chugging, industrial tinged riffs? Check. Epic synths and even the odd programmed techno/dance beat? Check. Fervent Anti Christian and Satanic lyrics? Check. Long songs and titles? Check. Authoritative gruff bellows? Check. Oh, and further cementing things, Belgian drummer extraordinaire Dirk Verbueren (Aborted, Soilwork, Scarve etc) drums on this release- guess who he last drummed for? You Guessed it,  The Project Hate and their last  release There is No Earth I Will leave Unscorched. Need I say more? In fact, the only thing missing is the female vocals (though Kulka provides the odd clean moment himself) . But still, the album is pretty damn good for what it is.

For most the above paragraphs will determine a purchase or not, but I suppose I should go into a little more detail. As with The Project Hate, this isn’t about single simple moments or bits, but lengthy brutal yet epic hymns meant to be take as a whole, both as songs and as an album.  From opener “They Will Worship This Fire of Agony” through the more fierce favorite “For That Which may Appease Lions” to instrumental closer ‘The Burning Sands of His Kingdom”, the album is chock full of big burly riffs  that lurch and lope with  commanding presence or march with mid paced militant authority.

A few speedier moments erupt here and there as well as the industrial/techno/programmed injections here and there, which only serve to cement the primary influence (notably the start of “Serpent of The Styx” or impressive middle and end of “Profaned and Perfected” and the aforementioned closer), but it’s all done with conviction and energy that I think even Lord K would admire when hes not busy murdering the internet for illegally downloading his music. Anyhoo- right now this is a bandcamp only release, with some planned physical copies planned down the road, so check it out and see an homage done perfectly.

[Visit the band's website]

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