I can tell you exactly where I was when I was first made aware of Hadit: it was 2021 and the first thing I saw after grad school hell was the discourse surrounding what “atmospheric death metal” entailed. While the concept now has been used to describe specific death metal albums that use atmosphere in places one least expects (i.e. Eternal Storm’s A Giant Bound to Fall), this band was being highlighted as an example of what the term meant. Now, three years later, Hadit has decided to grace us with their newest release, Metaphysical Engines Approaching The Event Horizon (Metaphysical Engines…), an album that seems to take everything that made 2021’s With Joy and Ardour Through The Incommensurable Path (With Joy and Ardour…) a delight and elevate its sound to new heights.

Unlike With Joy and Ardour…, Metaphysical Engines… has an easier barrier to entry, in that the music doesn’t have the feel of the incomprehensible tied to it. First track “Becoming The Light Eternally Travelling On The Photon Sphere” has more groove than what I remember With Joy and Ardour… having, eventually gaining pace and more sonic elements not unlike what can be found on a prog death track. However, this song also has shades of blackened death and doom, creating a cesspool of dissonance. For the start of what has been termed as “cosmic death metal,” it seems Hadit decided to start the listener off with something they are used to before pushing them into the deep end of the pool. Then, the second track “Interstellar Medium’s Rhapsody” starts, and all literal hell breaks loose. The previous shades of prog death are gone; here is where the actual “death metal” shines, where the vocals become cavernous, where the music feels like you have encountered the forbidden knowledge at the bottom of a catacomb. All the other elements you previously encountered are there, but they have become more dynamic and have been fully embedded into the music itself. Here is where you see the so-called “event horizon” that the album alludes to start to creep in – it’s a point of no return that will eventually no longer affect you. This implies that you will have witnessed so many things that you will either be numb to whatever sonic upheavals Hadit throws at you or there will be nothing to be gleaned from this kind of record.

As the album continues, one will start noticing a certain duality that the band uses. On one hand, Hadit can write a mean melodic hook, complete with harsh vocals, speed, different time signatures, and an upbeat groove that makes you want to get up and move. It’s clear that Hadit are not afraid to experiment with their music, emphasized by both the usage of synths and a moving bass that has an air of technicality that would not be out of place for Obscura. On the other hand, Hadit never lets you forget that they are, first and foremost, a death metal band, and that’s what they are here to create. This is highlighted on the track “Blood and Gods Know Where Weakness Is,” where following from the end of the last track, the music blisters. Gone is the melodic groove and the prog death leanings that colored the previous tracks; it has been taken over by a ferocity and intensity that seems to bleed into the (sonic) paint. The synths, previously used to give the music levity, give the music a haunting air, and the vocals tend to border on squealing. This is where Hadit shines – their level of experimentation adds to their sonic palette, but their ability to make their brand of death metal accessible shows that they have evolved since their last record. Metaphysical Engines… is a testament that death metal is evolving within its own sonic niche, sounding more like Phlebotomized than any of the more modern, active death metal bands.

All in all, Metaphysical Engines… is a surprising record, one that has the potential to be a favorite and a possible 2024 contender. It also has stellar production, a considerable improvement from With Joy and Ardour…’s fuzzy quality. Hadit clearly had an idea on what direction they wanted to go in, and it seems that shedding that fuzziness was a step in their evolution. While it might take a few listens for this album to sink in, Metaphysical Engines… rewards the persistent listener with the promised “event horizon” – nothing can affect you now.

— Hera

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Metaphysical Engines Approaching The Event Horizon will be available March 15 on I, Voidhanger Records. For more information on Hadit, visit their official Facebook and Instagram.