Impiety - Dominator Review
by Mark Hensch
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Ever since erupting from Hell in 1990, Singapore's Impiety has spearheaded some of the most relentless black metal not only from Asia, but anywhere in the world. Now, nearly two decades later, this barbaric horde is back with their first new material since 2007's Formidonis Nex Cultus.
Raw, ravaging and outright evil, Dominator is exactly the pandemonium one would expect from a band like Impiety. The sound first consecrated on 1999's Skullf*cking Armageddon is still here, Impiety utilizing thrash's blitzkrieging mixed with black metal's diabolism.
For example, the drums blastbeat at almost inhuman levels, sounding less like skilled percussion and more like machine gun fire. The guitars, meanwhile, storm like conquering armies into one's ears, led on by frantic battle howls worshipping war and Satan. Though lasting fifteen minutes, the whole EP feels like an apocalyptic battle, the kind of destructive force often used as hyperbole yet rarely passing muster. This is real black metal, true black metal.
"Introbliteration" kicks things off with some eerie Asian war chanting intermingled with sounds of battle and flaying palm mutes.
This is but a skirmish however, the real chaos beginning with "Slaughterror Superiority." "Slaughterror" rages with bloodthirsty roars, blistering music, and a primitive aggression that frightens. Though the song never lags below 150 mph, there are also plenty of variations within the stabbing guitars, keeping things brutal as well as interesting.
"Dominator" continues this trend with a thrashing black metal anthem chock full of surprises. Though the riffs are crusty, they blaze by while stopping with crushing accuracy atop hypnotic off-beats in the percussion.
After this, the band invokes Brazil's Sarcofago with a marauding cover of "The Black Vomit." In keeping with the spirit of the original, the song sprints by with the breathless intensity of punk buried underneath the technicality of thrash and the evil of black metal. As far as Sarcofago covers go, I am henceforth proclaiming Impiety one of the better successors of Sarcofago's legacy.
The end gambit that is "At War with Temujin" cuts down the opposition with slamming riffs all before letting loose with some furious blasting. Interestingly enough, "Temujin" attacks with a two-pronged assault. One side maintains the band's traditional mongering rage, while the other lashes out with washes of epic, stabbing guitars. It all makes for a memorable offensive, and probably the EP's best overall.
Though some may cite Dominator's shortness and simplicity as tactical shortcomings, such detractors are missing the point. This is an EP meant for nothing short of warfare and ruin. With this in mind, Dominator is a nuclear holocaust of black metal, just the kind of bomb these guys have been dropping for years.
Impiety's Dominator
Introbliteration
Slaughterror Superiority
Dominator
The Black Vomit (Sarcofago Cover)
At War with Temujin
CD Info and Links
Impiety - Dominator Rating:8.5
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