Sunday, March 11, 2012

Impiety - 'Ravage & Conquer' review

IMPIETY
Ravage & Conquer
PULVERISED

A clarion call heralds the return of Singapore's finest, the mighty Impiety, before "Revelaton Decimation" launches into eight minutes of seething black/death savagery. Fans of the band's earlier output will be well pleased with Ravage & Conquer; the band abandon the more experimental bent seen on their last LP, 2011's Worshippers of the Seventh Tyranny, and instead concentrate on mining the depths of death and black that have served them so well. Shyaithan's vocals have sunken into a gruff, ragged snarl (a la Master's Hammer or Abhorer), and the addition of new guitarist Nizam ups the intensity levels and melodic underpinnings while tormenting the whammy bar (listen to that bitch scream on title track!). Drummer Dizazter is all over the place in the best possible way, executing complex fills between the blasts and militant beats. For such a merciless act, Impiety have a firm grasp on the delicate science of dynamics, varying tempos and lapsing into thrashy or groovier territory within their infernal epics without sacrificing an iota of brutality. Their raw, pummeling cover of Bathory's "Sacrifice" is icing on the cake.

- Kim Kelly

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