Reviews : Albums : Hate Eternal, "I, Monarch"
Email the reviewerHate Eternal, "I, Monarch"
I’ve always afforded Hate Eternal my respect from afar. Their first two albums were so insanely heavy, technical and fast that ripping the band a new one for making their songs hard to follow would be missing the point. The point on these discs was simply to drown our ears in what quite possibly was the most organized chaos put to record. They have so far succeeded marvelously in doing this.
On the band’s third full-helping of barbarity, I, Monarch, Hate Eternal subtly does the unexpected without sacrificing any of Derek Roddy’s blasts, Erik Rutan’s gymnastic guitar riffs or the newly affiliated Randy Piro’s grumbling low end. They make their music accessible, and memorable. It seems that amid all the chopping, blasting, sawing, cutting and inhuman growling, the song stays intact and followable. From the beginning of the wrath-fueled “Two Demons” through the title track you’ll feel like the band has held your face to a high-powered belt sander, yet the band’s destructive methods will yield to strong song writing on “To Know Our Enemies” and “The Victorious Reign,” among others.
For me, however, the best part of the album is without a doubt the last half. Though it’s hard to believe, the back-to-back beatings of “Path to the Eternal Gods” and “The Plague of Humanity” have portions that may just get stuck in your head, because they’re downright catchy…well in a very brutal/tech death metal sort of way. Moreover, the closer, “Faceless One” is a goddamn instrumental, and it’s downright stunning. And though “It is Our Will” and “Sons of Darkness” aren’t as utterly breathtaking, they fit in well as another round on the belt sander.
Hate Eternal’s I, Monarch is an album I’d hoped, yet never believed the band would make. It shows tons of maturity, patience and poise, along with all the bone-jarring brutality from before. Be prepared to be impressed by this disc.
Standout Tracks The Plague of Humanity |
