Record Exchange Boise

Reviews:

After you're a member of the most respected-and arguably most important-deathmetal band of all time, what's a true death metaller to do next? Betterask Erik Rutan and Jared Anderson, who both departed Morbid Angel within thepast few months to walk further down their own left hand paths. Admittedly,Rutan had already compiled an impressive canon of his own, joining seminal death/thrashersRipping Corpse some 15 years ago before eventually recording two albums withthe Morbid ones, then starting his own project, Hate Eternal, with palAnderson and former Suffocation guitarist Doug Cerrito in 1996.

In all respects, Hate Eternal's debut, 1999's Conquering the Throne,was more extreme than anything Morbid Angel ever recorded. Naturally, the follow-upKing of All Kings-which sees the band dropping Cerrito-is aneven more technically astounding, thoroughly uncompromising behemoth of a brutaldeath metal record. Juxtaposing blazing, intricate riffing with creepy melodicsoloing, Rutan's approach is intended to break necks if not new ground.Similarly, the rhythm section of Anderson and powerhouse drummer Derek Roddy(Malevolent Creation, Nile) blasts with the typewriter precision that'sonly developed after a dozen years of underground death metal service.

Anderson's step outside the Rutan Clan with his own band Internecine-whichhe's been steadily developing over the past five years-sadly, isn'tquite as compelling. Although Rutan still lends a hand by providing The Bookof Lambs' production as well as a few solos and Roddy even adds drumson a couple tracks, this debut LP's proficient, yet by-the-numbers face-blastingdeath metal fails to ignite with the same urgency of Hate Eternal or, obviously,Morbid Angel. Sometimes a proper pedigree just isn't enough.