Description

2008 re-issue with bonus dvd

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.

The Perilous Fight – 2006
Features artwork from Paul Romano (Mastodon, Trivium) and also includes a blistering live set filmed at The Garage in London on June 4, 2006, with a live audio mix by Hate Eternal frontman Erik Rutan. The Perilous Fight delves deep into the life of one of death metal’s most influential bands, with Erik Rutan, Randy Pir and Reno Kiilerich sharing their thoughts on Hate Eternal so far in an exclusive 20-minute interview filmed immediately following the June 2006 London show. Exhibiting sheer metal mastery, this DVD is overloaded with bonus features including a guided tour of Mana Studios in Florida by Rutan himself and three promotional videos from the band, including the exclusive unreleased ‘The Victorious Reign’, directed by Shane Drake (Panic! At The Disco,Trivium, Hawthorne Heights).

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

Dvd listing: The Perilous Fight – 2006
1. Two Demons
2. Servants Of The Gods
3. The Victorious Reign
4. Dogma Condemned
5. I Monarch
6. Behold Judas
7. The Obscure Terror
8. To Know Our Enemies
9. Powers That Be
10. By His Own Decree
11. Sons Of Darkness
12. King Of All Kings
13. The Powers That Be-video
14. I Monarch-video
15. The Victorious Reign-video
16. Hate Eternal interview
17. Behind The Scenes At Mana Studios