HATE ETERNAL
Started in 1997 by one of Decibel Magazine’s Top 20 Death Metal Guitarists of All Time, Erik Rutan (of Morbid Angel & Ripping Corpse), HATE ETERNAL has easily become one of the most prominent names in the extreme metal scene with Terrorizer Magazine recognizing the group as one of the Top 8 Bands of the last Decade! Erik Rutan, J.J. Hrubovcak and Chason Westmoreland weave complex riffs, devastating drums, and truly ferocious vocals into a new masterpiece – INFERUS. The new album is already listed as one of the most anticipated albums of 2015. It’s heavy, it’s catchy, it’s innovative!
Though the band has experienced great success since its beginning in 1997, HATE ETERNAL are no strangers to turmoil and strife. In 2002, Erik chipped vertebrae in his neck in a van accident on tour and spent the next couple of months out of commission. During this period, band members withdrew from tours mere weeks from start date. This included a tour on which a London show was filmed for the band’s first-ever live DVD. Replacements were found and the tours continued on as planned. One of the most unfortunate events was the untimely passing of bassist and dear friend, Jared Anderson, who passed in October 2006 while in talks to rejoin the band. None of the issues ever kept HATE ETERNAL from its trajectory. Almost three years after the metal masterpiece, “I, Monarch”, HATE ETERNAL returned to the death metal scene with a new record. Fury and Flames, the band’s fourth studio album, marked the start of a new chapter in HATE ETERNAL’s already illustrious career. Fury and Flames was hailed as a diverse, heavy, chaotic and emotionally fueled record and saw the band on the road in the U.S. and Europe including the large European summer festival circuit (Party San, Summer Breeze and Brutal Assault).
For the writing and recording of Phoenix Amongst the Ashes, HATE ETERNAL recruited J.J. Hrubovcak on bass to join the devastating trio. In terms of the writing on Phoenix Amongst the Ashes, Rutan stated “it was my goal to expand upon what the band has done in the past, and add new dynamics and twists to the traditional, dissonant HATE ETERNAL style, yet keep it in the same vein. It took the three of us really pushing ourselves, and digging deep into the essence of who we are as musicians and writers and players to create something very unique and special.” The touring cycle for this record took the band to Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Central and South America as well as the standard U.S. and European tours.
Following Jade Simonetto’s departure, the band recruited Chason Westmoreland on drums and signed with Season of Mist for release of their sixth full-length masterpiece titled Infernus. It was recorded at frontman Erik Rutan’s own Mana Recording Studios in St. Petersburg, FL with mastering handled by Alan Douches of West West Side. This time, artist Eliran Kantor (Hatebreed, Testament, Soulfly) was recruited to create the lavish cover art.
Regarding the recording and the signing, Rutan comments: “We are ecstatic about how the recording for our new album has been coming out so far, and our new label and home Season of Mist. We’ve worked very hard on crafting these songs to reflect our path, from our past to the present, and the journey of HATE ETERNAL and its members. Writing this album was a long and arduous process. It took a tremendous amount of determination, blood, and sweat to bring this all to fruition. We’re super proud of what we’ve accomplished creatively, and excited at the prospect of releasing what we feel is our most powerful HATE ETERNAL material to date. Now it is time to bring this all to life! The recording process so far has been fantastic. I’ve never felt so focused and determined on a HATE ETERNAL record, and I know that this will be an album our listeners and supporters will truly appreciate. It represents an important milestone for me personally since 15 years ago both HATE ETERNAL began recording its first album and Mana Recording Studios was born. We have so much more news to share with you over the coming months. We cannot wait for you to hear this album!”
HATE ETERNAL have been one of the leading death metal acts worldwide for over eighteen years. The band’s full-length albums are considered crucial genre touchstones, and HATE ETERNAL are a proven headliner on major stages across five continents.
CARDIAC ARREST
Formed in 1997, Cardiac Arrest continues to assault the death metal underground with their horror inspired death metal. Never catering to the trends, Cardiac Arrest has remained a force to be reckoned with and show no signs of compromise. With numerous releases, festival appearances, tours in the US, Canada, and Europe, and respect of peers and fans alike, Cardiac Arrest proudly carries the flag of true Death Metal. Cardiac Arrest is currently signed to Hellʼs Headbangers and their 8th full length album is expected to be released in 2022.
ABYSMAL DAWN
Hailing from Los Angeles CA, ABYSMAL DAWN plays an aggressive mix of modern death metal. The band seamlessly blends the hooks and technicality of early 90’s American death metal, with atmosphere, melody and the brutality of their contemporaries.
ABYSMAL DAWN was formed by Charles Elliott (guitars/vocals), Jamie Boulanger (guitars), and Terry Barajas (drums) who circulated a three song demo in winter 2004. The demo garnered some attention for the band within the underground metal press circuit as well as helped them score gigs alongside Exodus, 3 Inches of Blood, Hate Eternal, Into Eternity, Aborted, and more.
In November ‘05, the band began work on what would become their first proper full-length From Ashes with engineer John Haddad (Intronaut, Eyes of Fire, Phobia). The resulting nine songs paid special attention to not only brutality, but song craft as well and earned the band a remarkable international press response for a debut album. On the strength of From Ashes, they earned their first U.S. tour, a five-week juggernaut alongside Six Feet Under and Decapitated and played as support throughout their home state with the likes of Suffocation, Emperor, Immortal, Goatwhore, Decrepit Birth, and more.
In 2007, ABYSMAL DAWN played a handful of festivals (LA Murderfest, Gathering of the Sick, Burning Star Metal Fest, and more) but most of the band’s time we devoted to writing and rehearsing new material for their follow-up to From Ashes. By November, ABYSMAL DAWN had entered Haddad’s new studio to begin the next full-length.
ABYSMAL DAWN spent the next three-months in and out of the studio crafting Programmed To Consume. One by one, track by track, the pieces of this record came together, including brand new artwork once again from Par Olofsson.
In February 2008, ABYSMAL DAWN signed a deal with Relapse Records, making Programmed To Consume the band’s label debut. ABYSMAL DAWN will unleash this virulent strain of modern death metal on May 13th (May 19th internationally). The band’s metallic assault thunders with all the hallmarks of death metal’s finest traits, and prove that ABYSMAL DAWN is an explosive new force in American death metal.
VITAL REMAINS
Death / Black Metal from New England, featuring Glen Benton from Deicide.
ORIGIN
United States-based tech-death masters Origin strike again with their new album, Chaosmos. The long-standing outfit celebrate not only a return to Nuclear Blast but also ring in their 25th year on Chaosmos. The same fury, brutality, and musical savvy that brought Origin critical acclaim and a devout fanbase on Unparalleled Universe (2017), Antithesis (2008), and Origin (2000) returns with reinvigorated intensity, passion, and skill. In 2022, the group—Paul Ryan (guitars/backing vocals), Mike Flores (bass/backing vocals), John Longstreth (drums), and Jason Keyser (lead vocals)—are undeterred by unprecedented roadblocks and global uncertainty as they push forward. Indeed, Origin’s new-era shock and awe mission is complete on Chaosmos.
“The music of Origin is a fusion of order and disorder. Our music is viewed as a meaningless assemblage of infinite perspectives,” posits guitarist/vocalist Paul Ryan with cosmic import.
Formed in Topeka, Kansas, in 1997, Origin have eight full-length albums to their name. The group buzzed early with their 1998 EP, A Coming into Existence (Original Records). Fans of high-caliber death metal and record label representatives had noticed. It was after Origin joined luminaries Nile, Cryptopsy, and Gorguts on the 1998 Death Across America Tour that a monster was unleashed. In 2000, Origin signed to Relapse Records, issuing four full-length albums in Origin, Informis Infinitas Inhumanitas (2002), Echoes of Decimation (2005), and the Billboard-charting Antithesis. While on the label, the group gigged incessantly, appearing on such notable tours as Death Across America 2000, Relapse Contamination Tour 2008, The Summer Slaughter Tour North America 2009, and several successful European runs. Additionally, guitarist/vocalist Paul Ryan was listed on Decibel’s Top 20 Death Metal Guitarists list in 2007. Origin’s subsequent albums Entity (2011), Omnipresent (2014), and Unparalleled Universe garnered praise in Metal Hammer, Allmusic, and Exclaim!, while occupying prime slots on the Occupation Domination 2012, the Devastation on the Nation, and The Hell Over Europe tours. Chaosmos yet again sees Origin’s technically apt death metal in scarily superlative form.
“It’s our third album with the same lineup,” Ryan says. “And I personally feel it’s a continuation of who the band is currently. At the start of 2021, people started talking about a new Origin album, and I wasn’t sure if the world was literally ready for it due to lockdowns/restrictions. In March, I told myself, ‘I will write one song per month until I finish the album.’ When it was completed, I sent over what I had written to the rest of the band. From that point forward, our collective alchemy resulted in what you hear on Chaosmos.”