Well they say a change is as good as a rest, so Peter Lyse Hansen must be very well rested as there doesn’t come much of a bigger change than completely sacking and then hiring a whole new band between albums! Yet this is what he has done prior to the recording of the bands latest album ‘To The Nines’. Ahead of this album I have to confess to fearing the worst as revolving a revolving door policy when it comes to members has never served the likes of Megadeth and Annihilator all that well.

To the album’s credit Hansen has continued with his high standard of riffing and they come thick and fast, spitting out at you like so much machine gun fire but it is the solos where Hansen truly shines with stellar performances in nearly every song. However like so many guitarist lead groups the focus can often be too much on the individual instruments impact and not on the overall quality of the song writing. And to that end ‘To The Nines’ does suffer a little as the album feels just a little disjointed and, well rushed.

Jonathan Albrechtsen does an admiral job with his vocals and the ultimate complement I could pay is that he doesn’t sound out of place and his vocals fit within the context of each song. Be it growls or shouts. The remainder of the rhythm section also perform masterfully given the short time they have spent as a collective unit and really do provide the bedrock for Hansen; and to the Hatesphere lovers out there nothing will appear to be wrong with the machine.

Perhaps it is the sheer astonishment that given the success of ‘Serpent Smiles and Killer Eyes’ Hansen felt such a whole sale cull was necessary, or the fact that ‘To The Nines’ at just over 30 minutes is over before it begins that makes me feel that this release just doesn’t do the band justice. Tue Madsen’s production is crystal clear and sharper than a bag of adders, so no issue there. It is just that with the new line-up has come a new direction to the bands music, with more emphasis on slower groovier tunes. Something that has no featured so significantly on previous releases and all this change just feels like a step to far for the band. A solid release but from Hansen you feel more could be possible.