Imperishable – Revelation in Purity (Review)

Imperishable are a death metal band from the US and this is their debut album.

Brought to us by current/ex-members of Aurora Borealis, Enthean, Hate Eternal, Malevolent Creation, Nile, and Olkoth, Imperishable have a wealth of experience available to them. What do they do with it? They unleash the 32-minute Revelation in Purity, and you’d better get out of its way, lest you be left a bloody smear on the floor.

Fast and aggressive, Imperishable offer up exactly the sort of extreme metal I’ve always loved; unforgiving and uncompromising in its scathing assault, but multifaceted also. Revelation in Purity is a ball of raging ferocity, all lethal riffs and malevolent intent, but is also more than just this.

As a rough starting point, a mix of the bands mentioned above works well. For additional ones, I’d also thrown in names like Anaal Nathrakh, Emperor, and Morbid Angel, hopefully hinting at how diverse Revelation in Purity unexpectedly is.

As well as Imperishable’s furious death metal core, they also deal in dark atmosphere and grim blackened vitriol. This not only lends many of the guitars a serrated edge, but also allows the band creative opportunities cut off from most death metal acts. The album has an array of different weapons in its arsenal, including dark worldbuilding, epic clean vocals, and insidiously catchy melody, as just some examples. None are overused, and all are deployed effectively.

When the band slow down you can hear doomier influences at play. When they’re mid-paced, it’s all about the crushing riffs, of which there are many seriously killer ones. There’s also a touch of thrash bite that manifests here and there. All of the above exists within a hostile death metal framework that makes for an album that is both satisfying and enjoyable.

Revelation in Purity boasts a compelling mix of planning, skill, and emotion. Imperishable are raw and unpolished, at least relatively speaking. The songs are well-written, but it is clear that the band are just going for the throat throughout, letting feeling dictate their performances almost as much as their inmate precision. Each musician is very accomplished and technicality adept – indeed, there is an edge of old-school tech death to parts of this – but the important thing here is that the songs are driven by passionate intensity.

Imperishable are hideously good. Revelation in Purity is a monstrous mix of blackened, technical, deathly, murderous extremity, and an album that’s a mandatory listen for any fan of death metal that delivers an experience greater than the norm.

Don’t miss this.