FROM THE CRYPTS - CELEBRATING PAST ALBUM RELEASES in the HISTORY of HARD ROCK & HEAVY METAL…
On October 26, 2018, Hate Eternal released their seventh full-length studio album Upon Desolate Sands via Season of Mist.
Background:
For two decades, Erik Rutan has shown that Hate Eternal is a tour de force. To date, Hate Eternal has released seven studio albums, including; Conquering the Throne (1999), King of All Kings (2002), I, Monarch (2005), Fury & Flames (2008), Phoenix Amongst the Ashes (2011), Infernus (2015), and in 2018, legendary Death Metal luminaries Hate Eternal returned with Upon Desolate Sands, the bands heaviest and most ambitious album to date.
Helmed by Extreme Metal maestro Erik Rutan, the album saw the band take another huge step forward in their quest to push Death Metal to its outermost limits. From the scorching opener Violent Fury, through to the epic, hypnotic, 2-part title track closer, Upon Desolate Sands showcases a band operating at peak performance and sees Hate Eternal raise the bar once again.
Always the workhorse, New Jersey native, Erik Rutan has always driven Hate Eternal into new territory, while bettering all previous levels of achievement. If you need evidence, just listen to Upon Desolate Sands, Hate Eternal’s most remarkable work since the bands awe-inspiring debut, Conquering the Throne. Songs like “All Hope Destroyed”, The Violent Fury, Nothingness of Being, and title track Upon Desolate Sands are proof that Hate Eternal are relevant now, more than ever. Upon Desolate Sands is essential listening for every and all fans of Extreme Metal.
In an interview with metalinsider.net, Erik Rutan shared the meaning behind the song All Hope Destroyed; “Musically speaking, it’s such a different song from what I’ve written in the past, in some ways like a very musical song. It kind of took on a whole different life, and I think part of it was me jamming with J.J.! J.J and I have been playing together for 10 plus years now, and Hannes being an amazing drummer that he is, I just wanted to create a song that was, musically speaking, like an opus. Something really different than the norm. And to me, that’s one of my favorite songs to play, and it’s one of my favorite solos of the record at the end as well. I just crafted that song. It kind of took on a life of itself, and I just flowed with how the song was composing together.
It’s kind of a journey, I think, that song. It takes you on a different path, and to this day it’s still one of my favorite songs. I hope at some point, I do a guitar playthrough for it, which I’ve never done before, but it’s something that a lot of guitar players and fans have asked for from me, and it is something that I hope to do this year is the guitar playthrough for that song.”
Hate Eternal surprised all when they later released an entirely instrumental version of Upon Desolate Sands in 2020.
In a later interview, guitarist/vocalist Erik Rutan commented; “For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to release an all instrumental version of a Hate Eternal album to allow a different perspective into our music. On the two year anniversary of our Season of Mist release Upon Desolate Sands, that time has finally come. Simply titled Upon Desolate Sands – The Instrumentals, it’s mastered by Alan Douches of West Side Music and is only available on the Hate Eternal Bandcamp. We hope you enjoy this unique journey through the dynamic passages of this musical landscape.”
Click the link to purchase Upon Desolate Sands via Bandcamp: https://hateeternal.bandcamp.com/album/upon-desolate-sands
Click here to listen to Upon Desolate Sands via Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/upon-desolate-sands/1426113833
Critical Reception:
Upon Desolate Sands received rave reviews from fans and critics alike, with Diabolus In Muzaka from angrymetalguy.com stating; Upon Desolate Sands is the sound of a band at the peak of their powers, rivaled inconsistency, intensity, and quality only by Conquering the Throne. In the production department, Rutan has achieved a sound here that melds the precision and clarity of Infernus with the thick tones of Fury and Flames, serving the songs to perfection. Every detail, of which there are many, is heard clearly, from Grossmann’s unbelievable drum performance to Hrubovcak’s impeccable bass work. With every detail being worth hearing, this is a boon. It’s too soon to tell if this is the best Hate Eternal record, so I won’t speculate. What I can say is that during each listen, I couldn’t escape the feeling that Upon Desolate Sands was the record that Rutan has been building up to writing, the culmination of each element of his musical vision, the fruits of ceaseless labor. Death metal fans ought to savor this triumph.”
While Fraser Wilson from distortedsoundmag.com wrote; “Upon Desolate Sands is a monumental album for Hate Eternal. Featuring some of the tightest song writing in the band’s discography, some of Rutan’s best production work to date, and a complex, emotional atmosphere, it’s hard to argue there’s a better record to be found in Hate Eternal’s discography. Hate Eternal’s seventh record will doubtlessly rank highly in many End Of Year lists, and rightly so. Upon Desolate Sands feels truly complete, in a way many records lack. It ticks all the necessary boxes, but it doesn’t so without trying to – the emotional depth, musicality and progression of the record all come together, delivering a final product that is as satisfying as it gets. Emotionally driven with deeply metaphorical and fascinating lyricism, crammed with hooks without being cheap, and loaded with ferocious, sonically eviscerating riff work without being completely inaccessible, Upon Desolate Sands is a monolith to brutality.”
Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells
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