### Hate Eternal: Fury and flames

#### 10/08/12 || The Duff

What to many is the worst Hate Eternal record, or the ‘just not the debut’ record, is probably the best. “I, Monarch” was all fine, but really, up until this point, Hate Eternal had the Erik Rutan riffs but hadn’t kicked it up in the extreme, something that only came with the recruitment of Jade Simonetto; that’s when Hate Eternal became a band that had gradually become more and more honed and infectious in its craft, digging its own niche sound before trail-blazing the scene with their formula of catchy and heavy in a pretty much constant barrage of vitriol that is entirely theirs.

A lot of people say you can’t hear much of what is going on, which is absurd. The drums are far in front, but the mix is dry, clear, and ugly indeed. What’s more, the riffs are evil, I mean seriously fucking evil – listen to “Bringer of Storms” and tell me that isn’t one track to the Apocalypse’s score. And it grooves. Add to this Erik was cutting his teeth vocally on the last record only to find his true comfort zone here, where nothing is held back yet the mastery of hatred and bile is masterful. Low-end, pissed-the-fuck-off and rousing as only walking through walls of fire can replicate.

Nine tracks of utmost rage, kickass, accurate rhythm work, and while not exactly obscure, definitely an overlooked lead guitar player. The man can play at speeds yet with an intensity I rarely come across; it’s like the speed of Loomis played with no fanfare, just full-throttle bleed out everything yet precise like few, on top of everything having that sporadic flare of only the most emotive death metal players like Karl Sanders (Nile), Vogg (Decapitated), Karlsson (ex-Spawn of Possession).

What can be said of Jade Simonetto? Yeah, well, I recently discovered the charm in George Kolias, but that guy is a machine; it’s drummers like Jade Simonetto, who play with equal spark but with their own humane zeal stamped to it that I’m going to take the most notice of. Jade is relentless, hits with the determination of Mike Smith, and most importantly, mixes it up. I’ve probably said this before, but the perfect fit for Hate Eternal where Tim Yeung is much in the George Kollias school of things; plus, his sound is very organic, whether he uses triggers or not I don’t know, but each beat seems naturally measured to a near levelness, not an absolute, which makes it all the better.

In conclusion, the last three HE records are my preferred because that’s when they started getting their sound down to a fine art, but I think “Fury and Flames” is the finest of the band’s discography, the most consistent, the most well-rounded; get some headphones, persevere through the drums and you’ll find an album that is an exceptionally unconventional brutal death metal record in the way only Hate Eternal can provide them.

- Information
- Released: 2008
- Label: Metal Blade Records
- Website: www.hateeternal.com
- Band
- Erik Rutan: vocals, guitars
- Shaune Kelley: guitars
- Jade Simonetto: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Hell Envenom
- 02. Whom Gods May Destroy
- 03. Para Bellum
- 04. Bringer of Storms
- 05. The Funerary March
- 06. Thus Salvation
- 07. Proclamation of the Damned
- 08. Fury Within
- 09. Tombeau (Le Tombeau De La Fureur Et Des Flammes)
- 10. Coronach