Customer Reviews

I Monarch

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Erik Rutan has outdone himself again. This is by far the best HATE ETERNAL album. The riffs are much more memorable than the lst two and this album seems to have more direction which lacked in the last two releases. The album has violent riffs and melodies through out the album with technical but good guitar solos (Erik's solos contrast the music in a great way). I hate to admit it but the addition of Randy on Bass/Vocals is a much-needed improvement in the band. The songs are all heavy and fast (as you would already predict). The only thing that will really surprise you is how quickly the songwriting has matured from previous albums. Erik's vocals only get better on each release. I recommend this release over the new NILE or KRISIUN. The album will keep your attention and was worth the price. Solid effort all around.

Since so much death metal was released in 2005, it's would only be natural if one band's album sounded like another's. Hate Eternal have all of the characteristics of a trademark death metal band--a monstrous sound with hefty, spiteful riffing and an insane drummer who turns out one deft blast beat after another. (His bass drum must be in splinters by the time this album is over!) But this Floridian group aren't a complete rip off of every other band, because a) the vocals are growled, so the lyrics are somewhat discernable and b) "I, Monarch" has a somewhat more groove-oriented sound than the rest of the death metal albums that were released last year. But just because this record is groovier doesn't mean it is at all commercially accessible or melodic. On the contrary, "I, Monarch" strikes a balance which is about as heavy and fast as you can get. It is brutal and uncompromising; as heavy as a sledgehammer and as tight as a coffin lid. All of the songs on here are kind of the same, but, when they make for such an exhilarating listen, that's a small flaw. "Two Demons" opens the album with thunderous drumming and blowtorch riffs. This song leads into track two, "Behold Judas," which puts searing guitars on top of a cascading, lightning fast blast beat. "Victorious Reign" has brain scrambling drum work and jackhammer riffs, and the title track is maybe the catchiest song on here, with rhythmically pounding guitars. The last two highlights are the ultra-evil sounding "Sons of Darkness," and the scorching instrumental, "Faceless One," which closes out the album. All in all, this is a solid effort all around, and if you're a death metalhead and enjoy bands like Morbid Angel and Cryptopsy, you'll definitely want to add this to your collection.

With "I, Monarch" Hate Eternal has managed to release an impressive album that will satiate even the most rabid metal fan's appetite. The advertisement sticker placed on the cover states that "'I, Monarch' is the next crucial album in extreme metal." The album is brutal indeed, and manages to live up to the lofty expectations of the sticker, by employing the following:
First, "I, Monarch" manages to be extremely brutal and aggressive without sacrificing quality musicanship that one would expect from a band as technically proficient as Hate Eternal. "I, Monarch" showcases the band's affinity for technicality and brutal stylings, while managing to display an amazing degree of creative song writing. For example, on the title track, blast beats are used as the primary rhythm core of the song which consists of a guitar riff where one would not normally expect to hear such fast drumming. This type of contrast is not limited to just this one song, rather, much of the album is produced this way, creating a style of death metal that is uniquely their own.

Second, as mentioned earlier, "I, Monarch" does not lack brutality. The album is EXTREMELY heavy! Blast beats make up the primary drumming core of the album, and Erik Rutan's death vocals are INTENSE! Rutan is one of those rare vocalists who posesses a voice that is brutal without sounding forced (i.e., he does not appear to be 'trying too hard'), rather the sheer brutality of his vocals sound natural and somewhat effortless. After listening to this album it will be obvious to any listener who is familiar with extreme music, that Hate Eternal stands alongside Behemoth, Nile, Suffocation, and Cryptopsy as death metal's elite. In and of itself, this is an enormous accomplishment for any extreme metal band.

Third, the production of the album is very good. Much to my surpise, Rutan is also the producer of the album. Production is such a key component of any album, and it is an aspect that I pay close attention to when listening to any album. Though not the best produced album, it is very well done. All of the instruments are easily discernable.

Fourth, (and I may be wrong in my understanding of the lyrics) but some of the lyrics appear to have a positive spiritual influence to them (i.e., Christianity). However, I may have completely misunderstood subtle meaning behind the lyrics, and they very well could be paganistic in nature (I believe Rutan was once in Morbid Angel). Despite this, one song in particular appeared (to me) to be influenced by benign spirituality. Please don't misunderstand my comment, by no means would Hate Eternal be considered a Christian metal band. Furthermore, as mentioned previously, I may have misunderstood the lyrical nature of the songs. If I didn't, then I applaud, appreciate, and commend the message behind the music.

Though an excellent album, "I, Monarch" is not without flaws. The most notable being the lack of diversity in the music. By this, I'm refering to the fact that blast beats make up the primary rhythm structure of every song. In addition, the guitar work of each song employs only a few riffs that create the entire song. For example, the aformentioned title track, though excellent, consists (almost exclusively) of one guitar riff played from beginning to end. Don't get me wrong, I love blast beats, as they make for the most intense and aggressive form of drumming. In addition, their liberal use on "I, Monarch" is something I rather enjoy. However, it (along with the lack of variation of guitar riffs) makes the album appear somewhat one-dimensional; and for a band as talented as Hate Eternal, that is a flaw that cannot be overlooked.

In conclusion, "I,Monarch" is an outstanding album, and anyone who enjoys extreme music will not be disappointed. I have read other reviews comparing "I, Monarch" to previous Hate Eternal albums. Unfortunately, I have yet to hear their previous work, so I have no basis for which to compare this album. However, on its own merit, "I, Monarch" is an album worth owning.

"Hate enternal is horrible death metal band. The druming is horrible, the riffs suck, The screamers sound like there vomiting up there instines. Stay away from this (...)"

Way to be descriptive there, tough guy.

"The druming is horrible..." Are you kidding? Derek Roddy is one of the best metal drummers out there. His blast beats are fast and consistent (very important to have consistency), his double bass is awesome, and his cymbal work is a thing of beauty.

"...the riffs suck..." This is also wrong. This is very wrong, in fact. The guitars are all over the place, but they manage to stay on top of things and sound great. The bass is huge, and the guy has some serious talent.

"The screamers sound like there vomiting up there instines." I am not going to get into the "there vs. their" argument, and your dubious spelling errors overall. It would just be a big waste. Anyways, how man how in hell do you expect the dudes to sound? I wouldn't say "vomiting up there instines," but they sound hell of evil. In this kind of music, evil is goodness.

In short, Hellbent is a numbnut goofball who is probably spanking it to the new As I Lay Dying. For people who enjoy talented and crushingly mega-awesome metal: you should pick this up.

Make no mistake, Derek Roddy is a monster. As others have suggested, check out Derek's videos on YouTube to get a true appreciation for what he's doing.

Hate Eternal's songwriting is good, not amazing. The unrelenting blast beats do get a bit repetitive, but check out the end of track 3 - Victorious Reign and Track 4 - To Know Our Enemies to hear a little variety. Erik Rutan's vocal and guitar work is definitely above average in this genre. And I think he needs to be cut a fair amount of slack just for the groundbreaking work he did in Morbid Angel.

I agree with other reviewers that the mix could be better. In particular the snare drum is so loud, it's sometimes hard to hear what the other instruments are doing--or even the other drums! But if you like the sound of roadwork (I do), you won't mind. Turn it up loud enough and you'll be able to hear everything.

I love the unyielding heaviness and brutality of HE, though in my opinion they could learn a little from a band like Meshuggah about making heavy, unrelenting metal that is still unique and creative.

Simply vicious. Definately one of the heaviest releases of '05. While this album is sickeningly brutal, it doesnt seem to get overly repeditive. Great production, razor sharp riffs, and tidal waves of blastbeats is what I,Monarch is all about. All in all a perfect DM album.

What could possibly make this classic death metal album any better? How about the live dvd The Perilous Fight? Well, as part of Earache Records Classic Metal series, I Monarch is available with the dvd in a limited double disc edition. As a fan of death metal and Hate Eternal, and somebody who's listened to the album constantly, I can say that this is a good buy even if you already own the album, but want the dvd and this is all you can find. Plus, it's two discs for the price of one. You can't beat that.

I was hurting for new death metal, the new Cryptopsy was a few months away and with the exception of Dark Tranquility I hate melodic death metal. So here I am scouring the local record store and I came accross the newest addition to Hate Eternal's repetoir I'Monarch, now I already owned King of All Kings and although I wasn't blown away by it I did enjoy a few cuts so I decided to go ahead and pick up a copy of I'Monarch with little or no expectations of what I was about to hear.

Let's just say that after much deliberation as to what is my favorite death metal album of 2005 I think this one slightly edges Once Was Not for top honors. This album is mind blowingly intense for a three piece band, the sound is thunderous, the overall energy of this recording is a thing of blasphemous beauty that oozes evil and malice. It is technically on the surface a speed for speeds sake death metal album as the overall sound on this gem is about as subtle as a ten ton hammer to the temple however there are little intricacies in each track that keep it from becoming a CD where all of the songs blend into one track (non intentionally) or that wall of sound where you can't discern one instrument from the other. Erik Rutan fully establishes himself on this record, if you were not impressed by Conquering the Throne or K.o.a.K. then you are not alone, I thought this band was definately talented but there was something missing, that void has been filled and I strongly encourange anyone who has written off Hate Eternal to pick this one up because I will now be happy to buy anything they release from this point.

Death metal fans let's rejoice, Hate Eternal now joins the ever growing list of fantastic death metal bands that are churning out some of the most brutal music ever known to mankind. Suffocation, Cryptopsy, Nile, and Morbid Angel now have some pretty stiff competition with Hate Eternal, Decapitated, Krisiun, and Behemoth all making their presence known with new releases that truly embody everything death metal is about. Support the underground, buy these CD's, go to the shows, and let's leave the melodies to the Swedish.

Let's have a look at Hate Eternal. Take the ex-guitarist of Morbid Angel, being the incredible Erik Rutan. Add one of the most breath-taking drummers on Earth in Derek Roddy of Nile, Malevolent Creation and Internecine fame. Sprinkle the old Diabolic guitarist Eric Hersemann and bassist Randy Piro and mix well. What do you get? Could it really be anything but awesome, brutal, technical death metal? I think not!

Hate Eternal have released their third album. Entitled "I, Monarch", this 42 minute beating doesn't really depart from the expected territory, but it certainly does what it sets out to do in no uncertain terms. That's not to say that there's nothing original on offer here. After all, Erik Rutan has an extremely unique guitar style and the talent to try things without losing the touch of quality that adorns all his work.
The musicianship on show in this band is astounding, and each of these tracks will have you in awe. But most importantly, these guys never let their talents overpower their song-writing, with each track holding its own with gripping riffs, masses of brutality and individual character in full force.

There's enough variety on "I, Monarch" to keep listeners attention throughout, even if the band don't tend to slow down all that much for very long. It can be a chore sometimes to get through some of the more extreme albums of late, particular those that have a playing length in excess of 40 minutes, but that's not the case with Hate Eternal. I keep pressing play again.

Highlights are mostly to be found during the first half, with "Behold Judas", "To Know Our Enemies" and "The Plague of Humanity" being the best on offer. Anyone that calls themselves a fan of extreme metal and death metal in particular (and I don't mean melodic death metal), will surely dig this album. Fans of the bands previous work should know that this is their best release to date, with a good production (it isn't pristine, but then I don't think they wanted it that way) that manages clarity and power amongst the chaos.

What a year for death metal! They said it was dead, but they were clearly wrong. Nile, Lost Soul, Immolation and Aborted have all released great albums, and Hate Eternal has kept the fires burning in fine style.

this is an excellent album. i just purchased this today. hate eternal are all individualy amazing at what they play.

they have an amazing drummer. he plays some of the most solid beats i've ever heard. if you ever watch a video of him or see him live, he is extremely good at switiching his hands while doing blast beats. he also does really solid fills.

the guitar work is also really good. really awesome double picking parts, this person is a very well skilled guitarist.

the bass player works very well with guitarist and keeps up really well.

i'm not going to go way into detail with this or anything, but i suggest you either buy this album or let alone look a few songs up.

favorite track: "behold judas".