I bumped into loads of reviews of death metal horde Impaled's recordings. It took quite a while to find something by them here in Finland. Now I got their 2nd full length album and oh fucking hell, was it worth the wait or what!

Many of the reviews raised a name of long gone gods of medical death metal: Carcass. Oops, I raised it now, too. But see, Impaled wouldn't sound like they do without Carcass' pioneering heartworks. Here, Impaled have many similar working methods when compared to Carcass. Lyrics are set into the medical world, for a big part. Vocals are handled in lovely duets by two male growlers (one raspier throat, the other more guttural). The music is mixture of Carcasss music, mainly concentrating on 'Heartwork' era (1993). And all solos are named... But accusing Impaled a bunch of copycats wouldn't be right. They are heavily influenced by the English merchants of medical metal, and since Carcass are no more, Impaled have all the rights to exist as they are. But there's more sides to Impaled, and pretty surprising ones, too. Sick humour is all around this platter. From cover art to the last song. A censored cover art comes on detached slip, so the original sickness is included, fear not. The band member portraits are very funny, actually quite scary. When I go to see a doctor next time, these pictures will surely flash before my mind's eye. Twisted humour begins when a "doc" take an oath... But not to cure. There are ugly sound effects and more of "doctors at work" stuff.

Back to the music. Tempos vary a lot, but I'd say this is mainly quite fast. Anything from blast beats to mid-paced operating. When the band get into the slower gear, a massive amount of, well... I quess groove is the word, hits my face and makes my head move back and forth like hell. If you think metal music can't be groovy, be my guest and crawl into your cave and act like a heartbroken creature of the night. If Carcass were influenced by NWOBHM, then Impaled are too, since heavy metal influences are present here. And the groove does no't supersede brutality! The music is of course heavy as fuck. And production is okay, suitably dirty, but still well-balanced, but I'm harknig for more heaviness. Hell of a lot clearer than previously, by the way. Impaled sound still American (of-fuckin'-course, they come from there!), especially Megadeth-esque (Megadeth were also influenced by NWOBHM...) solos make me smile, plus some solos and leads sound very Michael Amott-esque. Yes, the guys handle their instruments well. Another thrash metal tie is heard on 'Rest in Faeces', which includes some Anthrax's 'Among the Living' (1987) style bits. An interesting mix, methinks, Anthrax and Carcass. Swedish death metal influences raise their ugly heads every now and then, in vein of At The Gates to Vomitory.

I do not like this album because all those reviews praise it. I do not listen to any music regarding to any review, they just, usually, give me some ideas what something might sound like. I don't like some music because other people like it. I don't follow any trends. I like this album because it is so good metal album. Simple as that. All death metal freaks, check this out now or suffer all consequences!

Rating: 7½ (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
03/01/2003 18:43