I could easily copy most parts of my review on HATE ETERNAL’s previous full length "King Of All Kings" and re-use it here, with only very little differences… The band’s line-up has changed a bit ever since (Randy Piro replaced Jared Anderson on bass) and the new coverart, even if it may not have those HAMMERFALL similarities this time, pretty much sucks nevertheless (if not more). Apart from that this is another love it or hate it release. Fans of brutal highspeed Death Metal in technical perfection will most certainly also worship "I, Monarch" to the max, while others will probably consider this devastating musical inferno as monotonous and boring. In my case it always depends on the mood I am in… Sometimes I can’t stand this cacophony at all (same with KRISIUN by the way) and sometimes my masochistic inner self wants to get run over by this musical bulldozer pretty badly. But no matter which opinion you’re sharing, after having already composed two first class albums of this kind previously to "I, Monarch" it’s definitely time for the band to re-consider their writing formular quite a bit, as it’s getting more and more difficult to seperate one song from another (despite their individulal qualities). I mean, diversity is the keyword here and that’s what turned several releases by other extreme acts such as SLAYER or MORBID ANGEL into alltime classics! And with all respect to HATE ETERNAL’s musical skills, to me they’re still focusing too much on the blasting aspects and therefore often tend to get boring in the long run. A problem they are sharing with a lot of the bands that are currently around. Even the most extreme song needs a little bit of catchiness (a crushing riff, a memorable chorus or whatever) in order to survive… Apart from that, read the "King Of Kings" review. www.hateeternal.com