Thrashman’s Metal Pick Of The Week

What can I say about Hate Eternal other than the fact that they're one of the most important death metal bands of the last decade. Erik Rutan and the guys specialize in the kind of death metal I prefer...brutal with no auto-tuned vocals or breakdowns.

Believe me, Phoenix Amongst The Ashes is Hate Eternal at their finest and I'm starting to think (although, I will need a few months before I can honestly say for sure) that this is their best record. The album starts off with the short instrumental track "Rebirth" that sets you up nice and easy for the barrage that is "The Eternal Ruler" and if you're thinking that at some point drummer Jade Simonetto will let up you're wrong because if he's not blasting then he's beating you down with typewriter-fast double kick runs. I put on Hate Eternal when I'm in the mood for a wall of brutality and this album is every bit of what I expect from the band. My favorite tracks on the album are "Thorns of Acacia", "Haunting Abound" and "Hatesworn".

Phoenix Amongst The Ashes is out on Metal Blade Records.