Interview with Hatred Reigns
Hatred Reigns are a death metal band formed in 2015 in Ottawa, Canada. All answers by Jeff
Alicia
Can you Introduce the band?
Jeff
To the Hatred, I am Jeff, the guitarist and the founding member of Hatred Reigns. Our current lineup is a 4 piece, whereby each member contributed to our self-recorded 8-song concept LP entitled Awaken the Ancients, available December 1, 2023.
Hatred Reigns are:
Vocals = Mitchi Dimitriadis (Harvested, MIM, Insyte, Thalassophobia, ex-Misshapen)
Guitars = Jeff Calder (ex-Dichotic, ex-Deformatory)
Bass = Adam Semler (A Scar For The Wicked, Harvested, Misshapen)
Drums = Neil Grandy (ex-Dichotic, Deformatory)
Alicia
Where did the name come from?
Jeff
Determining a band name has proved to be quite a challenging endeavour. I had an album concept developed first in the Summer of 2015, and then one day at work while listening to Hate, and happened to be looking at the artwork for Slayer’s Reign In Blood. Verifying the name was available solidified the band name. I had criteria when creating a band name:
● Not another D-named band as I had previously played in 2 (Dichotic and Deformatory)
● I wished for 3 syllable name, as chanting da da da, da da da of a band name at concerts is quite common.
● Be available and not pre-existing
● Lastly, I wanted a name that allows the listener to formulate their own interpretation of the band name
Hatred Reigns encompasses all of these criteria.
Alicia
You have an album coming out can you tell us about the recording process?
Jeff
We wrote and recorded the album by ourselves here at my house, and we were fortunate to work with Dark Moon Productions to Mix & Master the album at their studio The 8-song
Realm I: Affliction
The protagonist is fed up with the anguish of the leaders of this world and takes their life. Their journey continues as they fall into an abyss of darkness. A one point they go inwards and explore their mental state as they question their current circumstances in an ethereal realm.
Realm II: Affirmation
Alerted to the awareness of a new environment, the protagonist is forced to determine the course of their fate and embark on a treacherous journey towards a distant land. Throughout the course of their journey, they are challenged by demons above and below thwarting their course in hopes of entrapping them or discouraging them from continuing towards Necropia.
Hatred Reigns doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel, instead, we blend our favorite old with new extrememetal influences into the songs you hear on Awaken The Ancients album. There are definitely homages and threads of extreme technical bands such as Cryptopsy, Suffocation, and tastes of Archspire or Origin mixed with even degrees of Pantera, Carcass, Behemoth, and anything else we decided to throw into the blender and see what made the cut. This is how we approach writing songs.
Kirk Hammett once said “To imitate is to create” but add your own style and flavor to it, don’t flat-out steal or mimic the bands. There are plenty of songs that I would try and learn and those riffs would inspire me to come up with a different variation than the starting point. Then add in the other instruments and the riff sounds nothing like the original riff idea. Which is fantastic as it gives our own style of how we compose Hatred Reigns music.
Alicia
Do you have plans to tour this release?
Jeff
We are opening for Kataklysm on November 10, 2023, here in Ottawa which should be a banger night sharing the stage with A Scar For the Wicked and Echoes From Beyond. Other shows are currently in discussion but not yet announced. If opportunities present to perform in other cities around the world, we will definitely be open to such possibilities. To perform outside of North America would be incredible to bring our music to the masses.
Alicia
Can you tell us about the music scene where you’re from?
Jeff
Hatred Reigns hails from Canada’s Capital Region of Ottawa, Ontario. The city benefits from being close to Montreal, QC, and Toronto, ON which have a history of producing top-quality bands. Montreal of course is hailed as producing incredibly talented Technical Death Metal cities. Ottawa has its own scene that has super-talented musicians. Some of the top metal bands have garnered musicians from Ottawa: Annihilator, First Fragment, Soen, and Suffocation to name a few.
Alicia
Was music something you’ve always wanted to do? In the Winter of 1989 my bandmate, Neil Grandy invited me over to see the drumkit that he had gotten for Christmas. While there, he asked me to pick up a guitar that was sitting nearby and I must admit that my life was forever changed. Discovering metal music and sharing a common interest in composing original music with Neil inspired us both to want to start a band together. Though we had our minds set on taking music as seriously as we could, we pursued our education and careers to the best of our abilities. All the while, we would be weekend warriors composing, performing, and recording music for our different projects. We have been fortunate to release albums, perform live, and do some small touring with our various projects; all the while keeping the focus on our families and careers. I won’t deny that there isn’t a part of me that would love to see Hatred Reigns touring outside of North America. To perform at festivals or tour extensively in Europe, Asia and South America. Though New Zealand and Australia would be absolutely a dream come true! If I wasn’t a musician, I would love to be a film producer or location scout. Alternatively, I would wish to be Bond, James Bond to drive an Aston Martin, travel to exotic locations, and get to blow shit up. And yet, I would love to have worked on Mythbusters and blown lots of shit up, for science!
Alicia
How has tour been?
Jeff
Our first show since performing in 2019 was this past summer sharing the stage with Defeated Sanity and Stabbing along with our mates Gland, It was amazing to take the stage and perform live after many years of break. We are opening for Kataklysm on November 10, 2023, here in Ottawa which should be a banger night sharing the stage with A Scar For the Wicked and Echoes From Beyond. Other shows are currently in discussion but not yet announced. If opportunities present to perform in other cities around the world, we will definitely be open to such possibilities. To perform outside of North America would be incredible to bring our music to the masses.
Jeff
Final words:
Awaken The Ancients drops officially on December 1, 2023, with videos premiering this Fall our listeners will be able to pre-order the album as of Oct 16th when our visit release drops. Hatred Reigns looks forward to bringing our music to their audience wherever you may be! Reign On!
You can check out Hatred Reigns music and social media below