This is the second album from Swiss solo black metal act Impalement.
Blending together black and death metal into 41 minutes of dark malevolence and infernal might, The Dawn of Blackened Death is an album of powerful presence.
The Dawn of Blackened Death has an old-school heart that powers the music’s forbidding assault. Impalement’s style is one that mixes together classic 90s blackened darkness with death metal heaviness and some more contemporary ingredients. For a rough idea of a starting point, think of bands such as Marduk, Nordjevel, and Belphegor.
Despite the furious delivery, the artist behind Impalement has taken time and care to ensure that this material is professionally rendered, precisely performed, and surprisingly full of hooks. The songs are well-written, fusing the artist’s influences together into a coherent vision of extremity. The death metal provides brutality, while the black metal supplies depth of feeling. Taken together the end result is an imposing collection of songs that are remarkably catchy and memorable.
This is an album of intense aggression and blackened melodic expression. Fiercely surgical drumming builds a strong foundation for the wide selection of quality riffs and rhythms that layer them tightly, while the vocals roar through them with lethal venom.
The Dawn of Blackened Death is an enjoyable and satisfying record that fans of black/death metal should definitely be checking out. It’s a quality album that’s noticeably better than the average, and contains the sort of songs that should find favour with disciples of the darker, heavier side of the blackened arts.
Very highly recommended.
Wonderbox Metal 