To challenge the perceived limitations and forge new boundaries is a goal aimed at by many yet reached by a select few. Guitarist Erik Rutan has created an impressive career by attaining that goal consistently for well over a decade -- from his legendary work in Ripping Corpse to his long-running role in Morbid Angel. In 1999, Earache/Wicked World proudly presented Rutan's new assemblage of Death Metal unstoppability: Hate Eternal. Hate Eternal was born from Rutan's ongoing quest to push the envelope of uncompromising extreme metal. Having spent the majority of his career solely as a guitarist and songwriter, he felt the need to step up to the mic with his brutal vocals and mobilize an outfit that would truly represent his own ideas. The goal was to create a massive force of devastating extreme metal with musicianship that was untouchable. With undeniable aggression, premier musicianship and Erik's vicious lyrical firestorm, Hate Eternal's debut 'Conquering the Throne' was the high-water mark for extreme metal in 1999. Musically, the album is an all-out precision assault, an album of sheer extreme metal mastery, a supreme force to be reckoned with forevermore. Following the release of 'Conquering the Throne', Rutan divided his time between three bands and his new career as producer in his own studio, Mana Studios, in Tampa, Florida (where Rutan has recorded such bands as Soilent Green, Premonitions Of War, and Into The Moat). Yet despite his busy schedule, Hate Eternal remained a top priority for Rutan. With Hate Eternal, Rutan was able to fully spread his wings as a songwriter, lyricist, singer, guitarist, and producer. In support of 'Conquering', Rutan hit the road with Hate Eternal with such bands as Mayhem and Nile. In September 2002, Hate Eternal unleashed its breakthrough album, "King Of All Kings". "King Of All Kings" launched Hate Eternal to new heights of popularity. The band's first-ever video, "Powers That Be", aired on MTV2's Headbanger's Ball and Fuse's Uranium, and the band made live appearances on both shows. Features appeared in such mags as Revolver, Thrasher, Modern Drummer, Metal Maniacs, and Pit, and Hate Eternal hit the road with such bands as Hatebreed, Deicide, Arch Enemy, Cannibal Corpse, and Dying Fetus. Drummer Derek Roddy was even called upon to perform at Matthew Barney's live musical interpretation of his Cremaster Cycle, at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. Far from a solo project, Hate Eternal is a band whose three members are each crucial and indispensible. After a few personnel changes, Hate Eternal is now set with its strongest line-up ever, a triad of utter extreme metal mastery: Rutan, Roddy, and bassist Randy Piro. In fall 2004, Hate Eternal entered Rutan's Mana Studios to work on its third album -- what will soon be hailed as the next benchmark in the history of extreme metal. Entitled "I, Monarch", Hate Eternal's third album sees the fearsomely talented and broad-minded musical trinity of Rutan, Roddy, and Piro uniting in new and transcendent ways. Torrential blastbeats (perhaps truly the fastest yet recorded) meld with inhuman polyrhythms whilst lyrical firestorms rain down with unmatched rage - yet the groove underlying the chaos is of collosal proportions. Amidst shredding guitar leads and warp-speed drums, strange and unexpected sounds lie lurking - Tibetan drums, tabla, didjeridoo. With "I, Monarch" Hate Eternal have struck a groundbreaking balance between groove and chaos, soul and precision, focused aggression and open-minded musical vision. "I, Monarch", featuring cover art by Paul Romano (Mastodon, The Red Chord), is set for a June 28, 2005 release in the US (June 27 in the UK and Europe).