Impiety - The Impious Crusade EP (2013)

When it comes to Impiety's considerable discography, I find myself returning more often to their filthier, earlier recordings more so than the stuff they've put out over the past 5-10 years, with the exception of their 2009 full-length Terroreign which was so violent and incendiary it nearly blew my vital organs out my back to paste them against the wall behind me. Ironically, I'm thinking that the late teens/early 20s version of myself probably would have taken an inverse stance on the gradual evolution faced by the Singaporean extremists, and looked forward to the days when they developed into a more structured entity, which have clearly arrived over the last handful of releases. This latest EP, The Impious Crusade, continues this process of aural refinement, with a heavy emphasis on Morbid Angel styled-death metal and a little less of that soiled savagery so emphatic on past recordings. Naturally, I'd take Skullfucking Armageddon or Asateerul Awaleen any day over this, because those old records have a lot of character despite their flaws, but from a tactical or technical standpoint, these new originals cover a lot of the bases that fans of recent Impiety would expect, and they do so without abandoning all their hellish history.

In other words, The Impious Crusade is 100% diabolical, vicious and fast as fuck thrash-based surgical riffing with spurts of nasty tremolo picking and an incredibly level of surgical precision, which you normally wouldn't think possible alongside such a whirlwind of hostile drumming and barked lyrics that sound like someone who would fuck you up on the street by stabbing you a dozen times before you could even react. The very dissonant flow inherent to a lot of the riffing here definitely offers a level of nuance to the grisly rhythm guitar tremolo spikes dominating much of the EP, and it definitely reminds me of some of the more intense death metal acts of the last decade like Centvrian, Hate Eternal, and pre-Illud Lamus Maximus Trey Azagthoth, but retaining enough of that ancient war metal appeal that used to run parallel to the US band Angelcorpse. Impiety has mastered this balance of both the taut and frenetic playing for some years now, but one thing that really stood out to me on this release were the lead guitars in cuts like "Accelerate the Annihilation" or the "Prelude (Arrival of the Assassins)", which are unnerving flurries of arpeggios and cracked scale runs that are nothing short of volatile and exciting.

The drums might occasionally feel drowned out, but largely because the listener's attention is going to be so fixed on the complexities of the riffs hurtling all over the abyssal spectrum. Regardless, they're just fucking insane on a Krisiun level of speed and ruthlessness, and they enjoy a pretty honest, slapping production rather than an excessively level of polish. Fills, blasts, and double bass are performed at dynamic levels and the volumes aren't always even, but ultimately that renders it more organic. Shyaithan's vocals are about as pissed off as they've ever been, gnarled and crude and spat out with more venom than a basket of cobras, but even if his inflection isn't your thing, he's also a killer guitar player and a solid bassist...I just wish I could hear the latter more on this set of songs. The tone of the bass is a little muffled and only faintly thumping along and thus the music seems a little mid-heavy. Granted, the drums and guitars provide enough spastic ferocity that you won't miss it long, but I feel like thicker low-end tones would have created a great balance of depth and atmosphere to the speed of the kicks and rhythm guitar licks.

The EP is closed out with a nice shout-out to and cover of Sorcery's "Lucifer's Legions", which a few readers might know from their unsung 1991 classic Bloodchilling Tales. Rather than just trying to sound as Swedish as possible playing it, Impiety have made this their own bitch, lashing her at an intense speed that fits the original material leading up to it, so sort of a classy choice here. But these guys have always had that underground appeal, and no intention of turning their backs on it, and I have to admit, there is some comfort in that. 'Better to reign in Hell...', right? I mean, to an extent, they've never really risen to the fore of these genres, because they're more or less a pastiche of elements from pre-1990 bands like Slayer, Dark Angel, Sepultura and Morbid Angel with a crust of components from the emergent black metal scene, but who would have guessed that 20 years after the Salve the Goat...Iblis Exelsi 7" (which, believe it or not, I think I actually owned at one point and possibly still own), that these guys would still be playing so fiercely?! Asian tyranny forever! The Impious Crusade isn't extremely memorable, and some riffs blaze harder than others, but if you're seeking out some blistering breeze of sickly demon-stench this summer to further sizzle your sun-baked skin, look no further than this...

Verdict: Win [7.25/10]

http://www.mightyimpiety.com/

Impiety - Worshippers of the Seventh Tyranny (2011)

Seven tyrannies, seven albums, and to commemorate their pungent, strong consistency of carnage throughout the past 15 years, your most hated Singaporeans Impiety have attempted something different: the single track concept album. Yes, rather than the rampant, rapid apocalyptic bits and bites of yesteryear's Kaos Kommand 696, Paramount Evil or Terroreign, you will have to endure nearly 40 minutes straight of hybridized extremity. It's a formidable prospect, for sure, but if anyone is up to such a task, why not Impiety? They're not the first Asian blackish metal band to flesh out the possibility; Sabbat of Japan comes to mind for their obscure masterwork The Dwelling, but then they've got a somewhat different palette of sounds from which they've evolved, though the influences are likely the same.

The test here is whether or not these naturally blasting mavens can pull off enough dynamic range that the listener doesn't become painfully unsettled and bored, and to an extent, Impiety have. Long, drawn out, Hellhammer or Celtic Frost-like sequences with slower riffs and Shyaithan doing a fairly obvious impression of Tom G. Warrior's classic constipated vocal style are alternated with faster riffing, taut blast beats, and strangely enough, the latter almost feel more compelling in this context, becoming hypnotic around the 15 minute mark before the song lags once more into it's careful side, which seems to almost climax right near the center, around 17 minutes with some pretty melancholic sounding melodies over the grisly, doomed rhythm guitars. There are a few drudging, lacking guitars present in certain places, some of which are simply uninspired, others which go on perhaps a moment too long, and though all the music is appropriate to the album's blasphemous, apocalyptic theme, it does somewhat lack in cohesion, with a few transitions feeling as if they were simply ground up against one another.

Now, I'm a fan of Impiety, and I actually enjoy most of their full-length albums prior to this to varying degrees, but my initial impulse was that this might not be the best use of their time. In this, I admit I was rather surprised, because while it's not one of the better single track long players I've heard in extreme metal, it's fairly professional. The sound is as focused as they've ever come across, and they've recruited Fabio Zperandio of Ophiolatry to record a few tasteful leads. To be honest, the band actually sounds far more accessible here than their older, outright blitzkriegs, and though there is nothing 'soft' or friendly about the compositions, it does lack for the nuclear fits of frenzy I've so admired in the past. Worshippers of the Seventh Tyranny is hardly scrap metal, and its execution is efficient and vaguely interesting, but against the sum of its parts, only a few sections particularly stand out, and the 40 minute epic format ultimately doesn't suit them well enough to recommend it over their past ravages.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10]

http://www.mightyimpiety.com/

Impiety - Funeralight EP (1997)

Those beholden to only the most recent of Impiety's full-length efforts like Terroreign or Formidonis Nex Cultus would be misled to think the Singapore titans' methodical, nuclear blasting warfare has been the sole channel to their longevity in the underground. While there have been hints of such extremity since their earliest work, the band would often venture into a more straightforward black metal enterprise, which in my opinion produced some of their more intriguing work. Funeralight was originally a very limited run release via cassette, following the band's debut album Asateerul Awaleen, and it treads a violent black path saturated in the carnal, thundering chaos that has long placed the band in the forward ranks of the most vile, uncompromising metal imaginable.

Funeralight is interesting largely because of the atmosphere created in its 20 minute existence. Blasting, searing black metal rhythms that balance stark violence and melodies under a near constant onslaught of gongs and loud synthesizer strikes that seem to spur forward the soldiers of this hellish battlefield, while the drum kit storms and the guitars emit a great number of blasphemous insults. Armed with titles like "Sodomythical Frostgoats", "Sorcerique Baphostorms" and "Dragon Oath Diabolus", the four tracks flow together in a serpentine mass of confusion...for without the actual cessation of the music between them, it would be hard to determine which direction lies north or south. It's a beautiful, consistent mess, and though some might consider the constant ringing of the percussion a crutch, it adds an air of distinction to this release among the many others of their back catalog. Probably the most controlled track, the closer "Dragon Oath Disciple" is my particular favorite, for the powerful mid-paced glories that seethe in the rumbling of the ominous synthesized choirs and percussion.

Despite the exotic flavors and the geography of its creators, Funeralight fits in rather well with much of the evolving black metal of its day. If you could combine Emperor's In the Nightside Eclipse with Celtic Frost's To Mega Therion, and then dowse them with the vocals of early Kreator, you'd be pretty close to what Impiety has produced on this EP. It's brief, energetic, diabolic, and often a little sloppy sounding due to the imbalance of the core instruments with the added synth and percussion. It's also not the best of Impiety's work. But the atmosphere created within is just rare enough that you'd wish to spin it from time to time (assuming you've got the 2006 Agonia records re-issue), and it holds up remarkably well for something so primal and filthy.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

http://www.mightyimpiety.com/

Impiety - Terroreign: Apocalytpic Armageddon Command (2009)

Impiety have long been one of the greatest underdogs of the international black/death metal scene. Never compromising, never settling, never caring. Their non-partisan approach to searing black/death hybrid metal with an edge of brutal old school thrash provides them with an endless hellish spring of inspiration, so I will be blunt:

This album wants to kill you.

Terroreign is the sixth full-length in the band's nearly 20-year career, and it opens with an ungodly, brief diatribe before the grinding blast and scathing lead of "Vientos de Holocaust". Two minutes of playtime is all this track needs to eviscerate you, your neighbors, and all living things within a 12-block radius. "Atomic Angel Assault" sets up a nice blockade of rolling double bass and chord assault, to trap any souls who thought they could flee the opening volley. The title track follows with a venomous thrashing cut to the throat. Love the leads here! "As Judea Burns" features some blasting over thunderous distorted bass, truly hyper death metal which recalls Angelcorpse (or is it the other way around...). Though the songs grow a little longer, they maintain their infernal consistency throughout. "Bestial to the Bone" and "The Black Fuck" are veritable onslaughts of violent intensity.

There is just no weakness to what this band sets out to achieve. Surely they are not writing the most memorable riffs or 'Album of the Year' material, but they are yet again battering you in the face with a vicious bludgeon of evil. Terroreign is one of their most polished efforts to date, but even despite the better production the riffs sound chunky, sick and raw. The band knows to thrash out at precisely the right time, and never bores you to tears with endless blasting. Yet they're still one of the fastest and most punishing acts you'll hear. I'd hate to be the hands of these guys...ouch.

Impiety have never put out a bad album, but this one ranks pretty highly among their wretched works, somewhere around Formidonis Nex Cultus and Kaos Kommand 696 in quality. It's well worth checking out if you favor unrelenting assaults of godhating darkness. Burn your bible, your koran or your torah and dance in the ashes! The gates of hell have opened, Impiety has spewn forth, and WAR IS HERE.

Verdict: Win [8.5/10]

http://www.mightyimpiety.com/