Two weeks ago, Egyptian Industrial/Symphonic Metal project Hate Field released the band’s fourth release entitled “Bedtime Prophecies.” Founded by Alfi Hayati, Hate Field‘s music is a combination of classic Symphonic sounds with modern Electro/Industrial effects and Heavy Metal vibes. Consisted of 7 tracks, the album is completely recorded and performed by Alfi Hayati, he expressed in his interview with us, “”the new album “Bedtime Prophecies” is by Hate Field as a one-man-band. I decided to build up and record everything by myself, like “Scary Fairy Tale”. But, the only connection between both albums is having total freedom to create something that reflects how I personally feel during this phase of my life.“” So, I am so excited to review this album
Have you ever heard about the right time of writing a review? the moment that you are completely engaged in the mood of the album! Well, I am in this position! The first time I listened to the album was backed by the feelings of curiosity but honestly, I was not ready enough for writing the review due to passing through a strange phase of anxiety, Death Anxiety, but I expressed my opinion to Alfi Hayati. And, today I am ready for writing the review after listening to the album in a different mood, experiencing a mood close to the album’s one. Actually, in the last period I was trapped between several sleeping disorders, and yesterday, I had an astral projection (I knew later that it was an astral projection) experience which I didn’t intend to have. I know, it is so personal! but this is my gate to re-approaching the album.
The album opens with “We are Above All.“ It is like an exposition of the album or of the story of the album, it is like speaking to the darkness surrounded your bed, or speaking to your darkened visions, dancing, in your room close to the bed. This mood is somehow portrayed in heavy electro/industrial sound enhanced with Alternative influenced musical style. The vocals shifts between very darkened whispers and clean ones are like wandering between conscious and unconscious, it is like gazing to shades moving before your eyes, listening to the voices sneaking beside the bed, invading your mind! It is not sleeping, it is not death, it is not reality and it is not an illusion, yet you are involved in this musical mysterious world! Those ideas are somehow enriched by the final part of the track through the night-influenced, dream-like Electro additions.
Moving to “Get in” (in my opinion, it is the best-composed track in the album). Here is another phase (a more horrifying phase). The beauty of this track lies in the rich presence of Hayati’s experience as a musician. You can find the remarkable Hate Field‘s style of depending on rhyming words and melodic moods such as “Angels Gone Wild” from the band’s second release “Jagerbomb” or “13” and “Red Light” from “Scary Fairy Tale” but in a more improved sense. The work of the keys makes my mind calls Odious’ “Mirror of Vibrations” and Orphaned Land‘s style. Wonderful strings tunes, very dreamy but shocking like waving memories, running in the shape of images floating before the eyes. It is like watching or moving in a strange unconsciousness, there is no reaction, just watching, stable but moving and gazing, separated away from the materialistic, familiar world. While “Dream Fulfiller” is a heavy track full of oriental influenced rhythms with significant orchestral sound, in addition, there is a certain sense of horror. Actually, it is one of the heaviest tracks in the album. In the Middle, there is an Electro part with whispers reminds me of some tracks of Hate Field‘s first release “Scary Fairy Tale”
Moving to “Mother of Lies,” It is a very melodic track with a more classic sound, Alternative/Heavy Metal sound has the upper in hand in this track. It could be so close to “Get in.” Moreover, it is a continuation of the mood we are in, as you are standing in the line between the conscious and the unconscious, awareness, and sleeping. The upcoming track, “Abandoned in a Dream” is so strange to me, and unfortunately, I couldn’t get its purpose in the album. It is an instrumental track, I think, it is the second instrumental track Alfi Hayati composed in his Hate Filed career after “Scary Fairy Tale” outro “After Storm.” Now, its “Halo on Fire” (Metallica Cover) turn. If you are a Metallica fan, for sure, you will be curious to re-experiencing Metallica in Industrial/Symphonic style. It was not my first time to listen to Metallica‘s music in Industrial/Symphonic mood as I previously experienced that through Swedish Zephyra‘s “Nothing Else Matters.” The cover is really impressive, there is a variety of sounds and riffs, this cover is like a symbol of a deep Metallica influence in music and life.
Here comes, the final track “Psychopomp,” (the most track touched my heart), the intro of it is a somehow sorrowful one, emotional, the clean vocals are very catchy, take your mind to the heart of the experience! Personally, if I could choose a soundtrack for my astral projection, I wouldn’t find something better than “Psychopomp.” Just imagine that you are watching various scenes before your eyes: people die, people run, fires, moving souls, fights but you are all completely detached, you look to all those horrors speechless, cold, wonderfully, alive dead! I like the melodies of the track as it expresses being lost between life and death, you are above but watching the world inside, you are on the other side but still watching what is happening! The symphonic/orchestral vibes symbolize this shift or move.
To sum up, before listening to the album, I thought it could be similar to “Jagerbomb” in mood and music! But I was wrong, “Bedtime Prophecies” is an inverted or improved form of “Scary Fairy Tale,” although Hayati expressed previously that there is no connection between both albums (I am against him in this point). “Bedtime Prophecies” reflects a deep improvement of Hate Field‘s music, there are new sounds, various techniques, more organization of handling the lines, employing the Industrial/Symphonic effects, and balancing between Heavy Metal riffs and Industrial/Symphonic/Electro additions. Furthermore, the experience of Hayati himself as a musician shines obviously in composing and performing the album especially the performance of the vocals. Regarding the rate is 8/10.
