Death metal fan or not, you gotta tip your hat to Erik Rutan. For the past few years, life hasn't been easy for the guy. Throughout the history of HATE ETERNAL, Erik's had a bitch of a time maintaining any sort of stable line-up. Yet even with members leaving right before a tour, he's managed to fill the vacancies and soldier on. Most recently, though, Erik's friend and former bassist Jared Anderson passed away, no doubt leaving him devastated.

That's why it's so inspiring that not only has he rebounded so quickly with a new album on a new label (the first three HATE ETERNAL albums being on Earache), but that it's probably the band's strongest and most polished release to date. "Fury and Flames" sees Rutan alongside Alex "CANNIBAL CORPSE" Webster on bass, Jade Simonetto of Montreal metalcore act CAMILLA RHODES on drums and Erik's old RIPPING CORPSE running buddy Shaune Kelley added as a second guitarist. Together, they produce precisely what one would expect from the HATE ETERNAL brand: a thick slathering of impossibly fast blast beats and brutal death metal riffs of the highest degree. The production is crisp and clear, and the trade-off shredding on songs like "The Funerary March" add a new dimension to the band's sound (this is the first H.E. album to have a second guitarist since their debut "Conquering the Throne"). It sounds like the band's standard has been raised significantly. As the album winds down, Erik pays tribute to his friend with "Tombeau (Le Tombeau De La Fureur et Des Flames)", a track that showcases the band's ability to meld heaviness with harmony in a way they've seldom shown prior, and synth outro "Coronach" gives the album an epic sounding send-off.

As a whole, this can be an exhausting 40 minutes, but hell… if it's too fast, you're too old! "Fury and Flames" is a new beginning for HATE ETERNAL and proof that, no matter what sort of shit's thrown at them, this is one band that's gonna be with us for quite a while.

- Cardona

OFFICIAL SITE: myspace.com/haeteternal

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