This is the debut EP from UK death metallers Impurist.
Impurist made a good impression with me when I caught them at this year’s UK Slam Fest, so it’s high time for a dive into their 16-minute EP Punishment Without Mercy, which saw the light of day back in the depths of April.
Containing current/ex-members of Extreme Noise Terror, Gorerotted, and Winterfylleth, Impurist know what they’re doing with their style. Punishment Without Mercy is a harbinger of things to come from this still relatively new band.
Opening with the EP’s title track, it’s all menacing riffs and brutal heaviness, with a blackened edge. It’s great to hear the singer again; his deep growls are impressive, and the rhythmic patterns used are very engaging and moreish. Between savage blast beats and guitars that are able to flay skin from bone, it’s an adrenaline-soaked track that leaves scorch marks with its intensity. A top way to start things off.
In Gristle and Sinew wastes no time in picking up where the previous song left off. It’s an unrelenting assault that crushes the listener under an onslaught of furious distortion. It’s utterly merciless, occasionally dropping the speed, but maintaining the punishment regardless. It’s over before you know it, and you’re covered in blood wondering what the Hell just happened.
Prelude to Pestilence offers up a mood-focused two-minute excursion into the sinister and atypical, marrying a sludgy riff with an unsettling trumpet and other otherworldly sounds. It reveals another side to Impurist, and it works well.
The EP closes with Pestilent Plains, which sees the band unleash their particular brand of brutal darkness once more. The blackened elements are more pronounced, yet this is still death metal of the most unforgiving variety, despite the immersive atmospherics. The trumpet returns again too, enhancing the heaviness rather than detracting from it.
I have to say that Punishment Without Mercy is even better than I was hoping it would be. It’s brutal and harsh, yet well-written and has clearly been thought about. The blackened influences add extra depth and bite, but it’s a death metal heart that powers this particular beast. Addictive and well-executed, Punishment Without Mercy has revealed a band that are definitely ones to keep a severed eye on. I cannot wait to see what Impurist do next.
Very highly recommended indeed.
Wonderbox Metal 