Conquering the Throne

Guitarist/vocalist Erik Rutan formed Hate Eternal in 1997 after stints in Ripping Corpse and Morbid Angel; the band’s debut album was released in 1999. In the beginning, Hate Eternal was a quartet, with second guitarist Doug Cerrito, bassist Jared Anderson, and drummer Tim Yeung (making his recorded debut) whipping up an unholy firestorm of riffs and blast beats. The songs are incredibly fast and punishing; 11 tracks go by in just 33 minutes, and no one ever seems to pause for more than a second. The album opens with the sound of an atomic explosion and maintains that level of intensity throughout; “By His Own Decree” has a stop-start structure that gives the listener a slight breather, but the next track, “The Creed of Chaotic Divinity,” is like being machine-gunned.