There is a downside to all this, however. You're gonna have to stifle the guilt that will inevitably creep up when it sets in that you've duped your friend, and you'll have to be the one to break the news: this isn't Morbid Angel. Nope. Dave is still getting fistfucked on a nightly basis in the Genitorturers. Trey is still scrounging through his ancient Sumarian/English dictionary to reverence The Ancient Ones. And, believe it or not, that isn't Pete blasting away beneath it all, despite the fact that his is one of the most recognizable percussive styles in extreme music.
While a great deal of you may boast that you would never be duped by such a shenanigan, I imagine it wouldn't be too terribly difficult to pull off on even some die-hard metalheads, since Conquering is a convincing conflation of Covenant and Domination-era Morbid Angel, sans the minimalist, orchestral interludes and, for lack of a better term, the slow parts. In other words, the Hate Eternal ethos is of the scorched earth, fuck all variety, 11 songs hyperblasting in the span of a little over a half hour. But to label the band Morbid Angel wannabes, pretenders to the death metal throne, would be a grave error, totally negating the fact that what Rutan and company have to offer may be the most promising death metal debut on the American front since . . . well, that other band I keep mentioning.
As is common knowledge, the band is the baby of soon-to-be death metal deity Erik Rutan, whose resume includes guitar duties in none other than Morbid Angel, not to mention the bad motherfuckers of Ripping Corpse and a few other punishing bands. And while he should earn accolades for his godlike ability to play ultracomplicated leads and rhythms while growling lead vocals, he should also be praised for putting together such a stellar line up: ex-Suffocation guitarist Doug Cerrito; a drumming phenom in Tim "The Missile" Yeung who isn't even old enough to drink legally in the United States; and Jared Anderson, who I can't tell you anything interesting or insightful about, on bass and backing vocals.
As mentioned earlier, the songs take no prisoners, never getting lost in themselves or straying too far from their cores. Complex and focused. Much of this is due, of course, to Rutan's vision and his ability to clearly translate it to his more than apt bandmates. Despite the fact that Rutan has written the majority of the album, however, I must admit that the most interesting songs, in my opinion, are those written by Cerrito - "Nailed to Obscurity," "Dethroned," and my personal favorite, "Spiritual Holocaust." Just chugging, sick riffs that waste no time with fanciful asides or excess showiness.
Have Hate Eternal indeed conquered the death metal throne? I wouldn't rush to make such a judgment. However, their sole contribution has certainly contributed to the at times sparse death metal arsenal, as is reflected by the nuclear bomb blasts that open and close the CD.
