Impiety - Ravage & Conquer [2012]

Impiety already have a substantial enough discography behind them, forming in 1990 and releasing seven full-length albums since then, this being their eighth. They’re known for having numerous line-up changes, and stylistic changes as well. Last year’s “Worshippers Of The Seventh Tyranny” saw them shifting toward a more progressive outlet, with only one song on the entire album reaching almost forty minutes. This year they’ve decided to change their style once again, going for an all-out blackened death metal attack rather than progressive. Some of their long-lasting traits are still cleaved heavily to, such as their inclination for extremely fast drums and heavy guitars, and their songs are still quite long (the longest being eight minutes), but there’s not as much progressiveness in this album as there was on its predecessor; albeit there are still some not-so-conventional characteristics throughout.

The album kicks off with “Revelation Decimation”, building up a long intro with strange horn sounds and a catchy enough intro riff. The drums showcase once more their affinity for powerful and incredibly fast blast beats, driving the music forward at an exponential rate. Two minutes into the song, they put on display what the whole album is about to offer: speed and relentlessness. The guitars play fast tremolos, mixed with chugging grooves and some more straightforward riffing that’s often seen in blackened death metal. There’s some experimentation with the guitars in the title track, a weird guitar effect making its way through and changing the sound of the guitars . With all this speed and intensity Impiety show their clear love for Polish death metal, especially for bands like Behemoth, with whom they bear a huge resemblance. There’s some catchy riffs here and there, but more often than not their music is dominated by fast tremolos and relentless drumming. The vocals are honestly quite bland, gruff and harsh growls that lay lower in the mix. In addition, incoherence places a strong presence in their music, as the songwriting constantly undergoes different structures and changes; and put bluntly, makes it sound as if not much thought was put into the songwriting process.

I have to say that their music is honestly quite vapid. While they focus heavily on the brutality and intensity, there’s not much else left to offer the listener, and he gets left feeling quite worn out at the end. Boredom and itchiness often emerges from the constant repetitiveness and the incessant speed, having practically no traits that make the band stand out in any way. And despite the constant changes in riffs, there’s very little variation or uplifting traits that can help keep the listener’s attention, and unfortunately their love for all that is fast and ‘brutal’ does not bode particularly well for them. The trio have definitely shown that they have the skill and the speed to play blackened death, but other than that, there’s honestly nothing special about “Ravage & Conquer”. I will say, however, that Behemoth fans will absolutely drool over this; but I came out unimpressed.

57/100

-SmithMetal84