Review Summary: Nothing really memorable, stand outish, or face melting, but a good record overall.
Hate Eternal – King of All Kings
When I want something heavy, something evil, nihilistic, intense, or whatever, I turn to the brutality of Nile. But the
other band I go to Death/Grindcore Metalers
Hate Eternal. Formed in 1997, this is the creation of Erik Rutan, while simultaneously co-leading guitar with Morbid Angel, and this is their second album. To describe this in one word, it’d have to be… insanitanious. Insane. This and other things (good or bad) are in the shallowest surface, deep within the bowels, and all in between in this album. But before I can go to that, here is …
THE LINE UP -
Erik Rutan - Vocals/Guitars
Jared Anderson - Bass/Backing Vocals
Derek Roddy – Drums
King of All Kings – Guitars, Drums, Vocals, and Bass
We’ll start with the guitar assault, both lead and rhythm. Well, there are some extremely heavy riffs, like those on the title track ‘
King of All Kings’, and interesting also goes along with heavy; just take the first line from ‘
Powers That Be’ or ‘
Rising Legions Of Black’, it just sucks you right in! The tuning is perfect for the mood, not to low, not to high (C#). Only, there are some similar sounding riffs, and some parts, like the title track, just repeat over and over. The leads are blazing, not so much fast, but a sizable amount of technique is used in them. There are just the right amount of leads to be found here, all put at the right places in the right time. The only gripes I have with them is not being fast most the time, and some sound the same (like the ‘
Servants of the Gods’ and ‘
Beyond Redemption’ solos). Also, don’t expect any mind-blowing, face-melting shred here, because there isn’t a whole lot, which disappoints, and a lot of them tend be short.
The drums are, as with most any Death Metal band, motley. Although Derek loves his snare here, it only adds to the unstoppable feel this album gives. But, as with most any Death Metal band, it gets old. He pretty much uses an entire blast beat for every song, along with an accompanying snare at 1000 mph (just check out ‘
Born By Fire’). While they are impressive, in both speed and complexity, it just gets tiring. We won’t get much to the bass, because, well, there isn’t any. I’m not saying it’s an ‘…AJFA’ album, because it isn’t “dry”, just that there isn’t any special moments to the bass. The vocals are a definite highlight in the album. Erik can lay down some beast-sized verses, he sounds like this: imagine Mikael Åkerfeldt’s power and energy with Niles deep sound. Although he uses the same style on each and every song, he can keep the listener listening just because of his power! He has the volume of just a regular singer, but, unlike Nile, doesn’t get lost in the mix, while still retaining ultimate control.
King of All Kings – Production and Lyrics, Pros and Cons
If you want a Death Metal album with (almost) everything right up front and (almost) crystal clear, this is it. Production is important with any record, and Hate Eternal has shown they can (almost) deliver. Every snare of the drums, every note on the guitar, every breath from Erik, it’s great. It also adds to, like the drums, the ‘unstoppable’ feel of this album. But then we have the kick drum sound. It sounds like the volume was turned way down, and it also sounds like a wet washcloth. Drenched. Heavy. If you like your kick drum sound like a Dimmu-esque sound, don’t expect it here. Don’t get me wrong, you can still hear the pounding and how fast he goes, but I was expecting something more from the drum area. But other than that, the production is spot-on.
The lyrics are all about one thing: domination. Erik can write, but if he expanded more, only God knows what greatness could become. See, he holds himself back to just Death lyrics…
We are the coming of the scorned messiah
Apocalyptic seeds
The loathing of your arrogance ordained
In absence of the souls in withered lies
Defeating all that stand
Conceration of the frails demise
You'll submit to our immortal ways
To only realize that we command
The armies of the dark shall form in flame
Destroying forgery
You cannot fool the eyes of the gods
-
Born By Fire
…while he writes good, I think he can do much more.
+ Erik’s vocals
+ Excellent drumming
+ Interesting riffs
- Sub-par length, power, and no mind-blowing solos
- Roddy likes his snare too much
- Some things sound the same
- Repetitiveness
So, in conclusion, I like this record, but only like. Nothing really memorable, stand outish, or face melting, but a good record overall.
RATING FOR THE ETERNAL’S ‘KING OF ALL KINGS’ – 3.1/5
