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Hate Eternal.
 Extreme US metal act Hate Eternal was founded by ex-Morbid Angel member Erik Rutan and will soon be undertaking its first Australian tour, roughly coincided with the release of the band's third album, 'I, Monarch', the follow-up to 2002's killer release, 'King Of All Kings'.
"After we finished touring for 'King Of All Kings', we took some time off to begin writing 'I, Monarch'," bassist Randy Piro informs me. "This time around Erik and [drummer] Derek [Roddy] really wanted to have as much time as the band needed to write this album. There were a lot of killer ideas and musical themes floating around amongst the three of us, and we really did not want to rush a thing."
Of particular significance to the Hate Eternal camp since the release of the group's second album has been the arrival of Piro himself, who replaces former bass player Jared Anderson.
"Right before the band's first headlining tour Jared went into rehab. There was no way they could cancel the tour so a replacement had to be found. I was jamming with Derek back home, and also accompanied the band as a tech on a tour they did with Cannibal Corpse, so they both felt I could do a good job filling in. Once it became apparent that Jared could not continue with the band we had already built a great chemistry on a musical and personal level, so I guess it just felt natural at that point. Jared is still one of us in spirit, and always will be."
Moving back onto the subject of the band's new album, Piro explains that, "We wanted this to be a different Hate Eternal album of sorts. Every Hate Eternal album has its own personality, I think, and we wanted to keep that aspect for sure; at the same time, though, we wanted to expand the overall vision of the band. The Victorious Reign was the first tune we had going; the rest pretty much just fell into place. Songs like I, Monarch, To Know Our Enemies, and Sons Of Darkness, for example, kind of symbolize the musical expansion of Hate Eternal. Derek had It Is Our Will, and he and Rutan collaborated on Path To The Eternal Gods. All three of us worked very hard together when putting these songs together. We felt each song had to have its own identity, but they all had to flow together at the same time."
Given the respective titles of this album, its predecessor and the band's first release, 'Conquering The Throne', it's hard not to notice a theme. "Well, they had 'King Of All Kings' pretty much right after 'Conquering The Throne'," Piro explains. "[The title] 'I, Monarch' came before we began recording the album. At that point it kind of was intentional to have the third album kind of fit in with the first two. Once 'I, Monarch' was suggested as a title, we all knew that it just fit so perfectly."
Musically the group seems to have engaged in a little experimentation on the newer work, incorporating a didgeridoo into To Know Our Enemies and tabla (an Indian percussion instrument) on Sons of Darkness; in addition, the title track has a very unusual beginning and end.
"A friend of ours called Chip Staples was responsible for the didgeridoo and tabla," Piro explains.
"He works with Derek, and feels music the same way we do. We really want to expand on his works in the future. A guy called Zero Kama was responsible for the musical piece before and after I, Monarch. I know that the record that piece is on, 'The Secret Eye Of Laylah', is one of Erik's biggest influences when it comes to his guitar playing. We all listen to a variety of music and really wanted to interject different ideas and expand, so we did."
Finally, what made the band decide to do an Australian tour at last?
"We always wanted to go Down Under; it just finally came to be," Piro says. "We'll be down there for about a week, and are ready to devastate the continent. It'll be our first time over there, so we're really gonna go sick for those shows! We want to see if Australian mosh pits revolve counterclockwise down there!"
James Brazel
 | Hate Eternal play an all-ages show at Le Rox/Bridgeway Hotel on Sat 4 Jun with Psycroptic, Vespers Descent and Omnium. 'I, Monarch' is out now on Earache. |
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