Description

The third album by Erik Rutan's post-Morbid Angel project Hate Eternal may be the singer/guitarist's purest achievement, if not his best. I, Monarch is 40 minutes of distilled essence of death metal, with Rutan's Cookie Monster vocals declaiming crypto-religious S&M lyrics over his own hypnotically repetitive riffs and flashy, technically excellent solos, while a close-to-inaudible bassist and the superhuman blastbeat drummer Derek Roddy hurtle along at near-impossible speeds behind him. Those who love this sort of thing will be in awe, not least because Rutan manages to include a few actual tunes (or at least refrains) alongside the jackhammer throb. Those whose tolerance for death metal is lower should nonetheless at least stay for the end; the instrumental "Faceless One" is something of a breakthrough, and the best song on the album by some distance. After nine tracks that whiz past in a death metal blur, Rutan slows the tempo here incrementally, but just enough to allow himself and Roddy the breathing room to show off hitherto speed-obscured aspects of their playing. Roddy in particular comes off exceedingly well; he may be the best drummer in the entire subgenre. If Rutan chose to explore this variation on what's becoming a well-worn theme, Hate Eternal might be on to something interesting. Track Listing 1. Two Demons 2. Behold Judas 3. The Victorious Reign 4. To Know Our Enemies 5. I, Monarch 6. Path To The Eternal Gods 7. The Plague Of Humanity 8. It Is Our Will 9. Sons Of Darkness 10. Faceless One