03/06/2023 21:45

Imperishable

Imperishable: debut album 'Come, Sweet Death' out in June

They say that the more things change the more they stay the same. If there's one thing that has remained stable despite living in 2023 is that we love Swedish death metal. The style has become a favorite of ours over the past 35 years. Something about the guitar tone just makes you want to devour any release that can be described as "Inspired by early Entombed and Dismember." The good thing is that there's an incredible wealth of bands that draw from that well. The bad thing is that said wealth leads to a lot of bands becoming indistinguishable due to how same they are.

Thankfully, Imperishable's 'Come, Sweet Death' manages to stand out from the pack, in no small part due to breaking away from the genre's usual trappings. And in a way this is no surprise since the band members were or are involved in Vampire, Portrait, Nominon and Dr. Living Dead!

Track listing:
1. Venomous (04:47)
2. Infernal Lust (03:32)
3. The Perennial Desire (05:15)
4. The Phantasm (03:18)
5. Vertiginous (03:45)
6. Teeth of the Hydra (04:13)
7. Deathspawn (02:35)
8. Fangs (04:45)
9. Prelude (00:57)
10. Come, Sweet Death (04:30)
11. Once My Eye Moved Mountains (Eucharist cover, vinyl only bonus track)

As you might have already gathered, the band draws a lot from the Stockholm scene, more specifically Dismember, that is undeniable. What's really interesting though is that they draw from their later, and more melodic influenced era as much as from the early days. Imperishable, like their peers effortlessly blends the aggressive buzzsaw riffing with leads brimming with melody, which most modern bands in the style avoid in favor of pure aggression. Said blend can be seen throughout their debut album, though it can be felt more on the longer tracks, like 'Teeth of the Hydra' and 'Fangs', where the band have more room to develop their ideas and mix grinding death metal with NWOBHM-inspired leads and riffs. In short: Imperishable have great songs, great melodies, well-arranged structures and still is brutal, just like the great old bands were. And the production is spot on for this release.

It is good to hear a band experiment beyond the confines of the original old school Swedish death metal sound. 'Come, Sweet Death' is an extremely promising release, and a small breath of fresh air in an otherwise stale scene. Imperishable's love for the more melodic aspects of the style make them worth keeping an eye on now and in future.

• Relesae date: June 9th, 2023
• Artwork by Andreas Sandberg at Ouijamotion
• Mixed and mastered by Oscar Nilsson at Crehate Studios in Gothenburg

Editions:
• CD, limited to 1500
• 12" yellow/orange/black splatter vinyl, limited to 150
• 12" sea blue vinyl, limited to 150
• 12" black vinyl, limited to 400

(source: Hammerheart Records)