August 17th, 2002 <br> <br>Erik Rutan Moves On From Morbid Angel <br> <br>Erik Rutan has announced he is leaving Morbid Angel in order to devote himself entirely to Hate Eternal. Erik began playing guitar with Morbid Angel in 1993 and has played on three of the band's albums, as well as numerous national and international tours. In 1996, Erik began forming Hate Eternal, a blistering Death Metal band that takes technicality and brutality to new levels. In Hate Eternal, Erik fully expresses his own musical and lyrical ideas, handling vocals and guitar, and the majority of the songwriting. Hate Eternal's debut album, "Conquering The Throne", was the high-water mark for Death Metal in 1999 -- a furious yet precise assault on the senses. Hate Eternal's second album, "King Of All Kings" is now finished and is set for release on September 16th in Europe and September 17th in the US. <br> <br>Erik had this to say about his decision to focus all his energies on Hate Eternal: <br> <br>"Being in Morbid Angel for the past nine years has been the greatest time of my life. To play in my favorite Death Metal band of all time has been a tremendous honor. I want to thank Trey and Pete for all the great years and all they have done for me, and all the fans who have supported me and will hopefully continue to support me in the future. It is now time for me to stand on my own two feet with Hate Eternal." <br> <br>source <a href="http://www.hateeternal.com" target="_blank">http://www.hateeternal.com</a>/

Guitarist Erik Rutan has announced his departure from MORBID ANGEL in order to devote himself entirely to HATE ETERNAL. <br> <br>"Being in MORBID ANGEL for the past nine years has been the greatest time of my life," Rutan said in a statement. "To play in my favorite death metal band of all time has been a tremendous honor. <br> <br>"I want to thank [MORBID ANGEL guitarist] Trey [Azagthoth] and [drummer] Pete [Sandoval] for all the great years and all they have done for me, and all the fans who have supported me and will hopefully continue to support me in the future. It is now time for me to stand on my own two feet with HATE ETERNAL." <br> <br>Erik began playing guitar with MORBID ANGEL in 1993 and has played on three of the band's albums, as well as numerous national and international tours. <br> <br>In 1996, Erik began forming HATE ETERNAL, a blistering death metal band that takes technicality and brutality to new levels. <br> <br>In HATE ETERNAL, Erik fully expresses his own musical and lyrical ideas, handling vocals and guitar, and the majority of the songwriting. <br> <br>HATE ETERNAL's debut album, Conquering The Throne, was the high-water mark for death metal in 1999 — a furious-yet-precise assault on the senses. The group's second album, King Of All Kings, is now finished and is set for release on September 16th in Europe and September 17th in the US. <br> <br><a href="http://www.blabbermouth.net" target="_blank">http://www.blabbermouth.net</a>

bah, that fucking blows. I asked erik if he knew what was going on with MA and if the rest of MA was writing new material while he's doing the hate eternal tour. He said hasn't talked to anyone from MA for a while and he didn't really say much other than that. I asked him how is studio was doing and he pretty much just talked about how he wanted to commit to Hate Eternal fully...He'll probably still keep Alas going, but I don't think Alas takes up too much of his time such as MA. <br> <br>But shit, he shouldn't have left Morbid. God damnit. Either way Im sure Trey will do fine by himself even if they don't find anyone else to fill in for tours. Maybe I should fill in =)

See Hate Eternal on tour in the US this November with Cannibal Corpse!

god damned right I will.

maybe next time erik will be there to pickup his cell phone when I call.

I love Hate Eternal