Album Review: HateSphere – Guillotine (Scarlet Records)

Rating: 10
Author: Brendan Fisher

03/10/2026 Brendan Fisher 5 min read

Danish thrash-death metal band HateSphere will release their 12th studio album, Guillotine, on 9th October via Scarlet Records.

Danish thrash-death metal veterans HateSphere have been delivering their aggressive blend of thrash, death metal, melody and groove for more than two decades, building a reputation as one of the country’s most enduring names in extreme metal. Now in 2026, they deliver their 12th studio album, Guillotine. Following 2023’s Hatred Reborn, this latest offering is said to take a darker and more atmospheric approach while retaining the aggression and speed that have been trademarks of HateSphere throughout their career.

Produced, mixed and mastered by Tue Madsen at Antfarm Studio (Heaven Shall Burn, The Haunted, Dark Tranquillity), Guillotine explores morality, human nature and the conflict between individuals and the societies they exist within. Guillotine also comes with cover artwork by Mikkel Rützov/Drown Design.

HateSphere is Mathias Uldall on vocals, Peter Lyse Karmark and Franz Aleksander Posch on guitars, Jimmy Fyrstenberg on bass and Mike Park on drums.

Hatesphere - Guillotine Band — Photo Credit: Marika Hyldmar

HateSphere kick off their 12th album with the aptly named Chapter XII. It’s a superb start to the album, leading us in with softened melody from the lead guitars before turning the dial up a notch. Crushing drums and bass create thunderous rhythms, the riffs are crunchy and will get your neck working quickly, and the lead guitars scream over the top of the instrumental opener. Dogma then keeps the adrenaline up, starting straight off with fire and intensity. The vocals are harsh and aggressive, the music really combining death and thrash nicely, with fast drums and riffs combining with heavier riffs and those death metal vocals. It’s catchy as well though, with a banging chorus that sees some vocal variation in tone and a little backing/gang vocals. The solo leads into a nice grooving instrumental section too, as HateSphere chuck everything at these opening tracks with a great result.

The title track, Guillotine, brings some serious groove and catchiness with an intro of stop-start riffing and big guitar slams. The vocals stay harsh and heavy but slow down in delivery to match the chunkier, thicker rhythms. The chorus is good again, and I really enjoy the vocal variation, with some of the tones getting close to extreme metal and well-placed backing adding depth at the right time. The lead guitars on this song are next level, with some very creative solo work and screaming melodies. 12 albums in, but clearly HateSphere are still very motivated and energised here.

Morbid brings a huge thrashy intro in with quick-picked riffs and rolling drum and bass lines. It’s that stampeding horses sort of sound we all love. The pace is ramped up significantly in the verses here, and there is a nice contrast then to a slower, grooving but dark chorus. It’s a headbanger, with some seriously vicious vocals too, but also layers of lead guitar melody that add atmosphere and depth, giving the song, and the songs, a nice and full sound. Cleansing keeps the energy up as well, bringing more of those nice combinations between all-out blasts of anarchy with more controlled grooving beats. Having these weapons in your arsenal is one thing, but using them cleverly to create engaging and flowing songs is another, and that’s where HateSphere are really excelling here.

Heading into the second half of Guillotine and the quality keeps coming first with Snake Charmer. A song that has some really haunting melodies in its intro before it transforms into a dark and aggressive thrash song. Strong riffs, great energy and heavy vocals let rip on a song that will have plenty of heads moving and pits swirling.

Mouth Filled With Barbed Wire is as aggressive a song as its title suggests. Punchy riffs but a big dollop of groove too, with really impressive drum blasts and a surprisingly catchy chorus are the order of the day here. Strong lead guitar melody comes in to add another layer over the heaviness in another song that grabs you by the throat and refuses to let go from start to end.

Speaking of groove, Bottom Feeder brings that in a big way. I love the big riffs and catchy drum beat in the intro, which already has my head banging, but as the pace drops down into a moody, stomping sound, I’m in my element. It’s also another mark of intelligence from the band, using pace variations on the album to keep things fresh and exciting. This is just heavy, dark and pure groove. The vocals are great, the layered growls have power and impact, and we do get some really nasty gutturals as the vocalist continues to show his range within the growl and snarl department.

Nearing the end now, the penultimate track is Human Scum and the pace picks up with some nice combinations between thrash riffs and energy, harsh death metal vocals and aggression. Another catchy chorus with some stunning harmonising melody breaks up the aggressive verses nicely. This is such a good song. I love the guitars in the section while the vocalist screams “you are the scum of the earth”. The instrumental section is fire. I could listen to this one all day.

HateSphere bring Guillotine to a close in style with Heresy. It’s another great track, bringing all their considerable skills into play in one song. Crushingly heavy verses lead into a catchy chorus where the melody grows a bit. The verses are dark and sinister, with stop-start riffs over thunderous drum blasts. The guitars and drums impress again in a fast and fiery instrumental section before the powerful and well-ranged vocals come back in to kick our asses through to the close.

In short, Guillotine is an awesome album. It’s really good, heavy and aggressive but never feels like it’s relying on just one approach to keep things interesting. HateSphere use pace changes, vocal range, groove and plenty of melody to keep the album fresh and exciting throughout. 12 albums in and they sound every bit as motivated and energised as you’d want from a band with this much experience. A seriously enjoyable album from start to finish.