Pulverized Records (2012)
Although Impiety is hailed as a black metal band, I hear death/thrash metal w/black metal vocals that owes more to the likes of Behemoth and early Morbid Angel than to Emperor, although influence of the latter from their least black metal album "IX Equilibrium" is palpable.
"Ravage & Conquer" is that kind of album you'd expect (read: wish) Morbid Angel would have released in place of Idiotus InAnus Irrelevantus. Reviewers on the net, particularly from metalreview, pegged this record as inaccessible and extreme over the top old school black metal, but actually I found it quite catchy with very little actual black metal. True, it IS fast most of the time and overall there's little variation of tempo plus songs seem all the same or rather, especially when seemless transitions from one track to the next occur, like one long song.
Impiety spits out lots of riffs in one song, though with occasional melody not a stranger. Production, the make it or brake it must of any heavy metal album is decent - if you like the way "Altars of Madness" sounds you won't be disappointed. Some riffs are actually great and sound fresh, such as the ones "The Scourge Majesty", where black metal shows up more, or the one at 4:20 mark of "War Crown".
Of course, the weakest part is the lyrics. They remind me of the following observation I made recently about the metal scene, particularly blackened death and black metal: there are two kinds of Satanism: true La Vey/Crowley path and Christian Satanism where you believe like Christians you're just Megatron not Optimus, Vader not Ob One, Voldemort not Dumbledore, etc. , you get the point.
The difference is while both bitch about god the tyrant, the former bows to NO ONE, in which it is similar to agnosticism, while the latter just changes tyrants from God to Satan, with the new master astonishingly exhibiting the same totalitarian tendencies as the Christian God they renounce for having. Thus the christian Satanism becomes a parody of itself and is rightly mocked by Christians. Consider the following lyric from Morbid Angel who considers this new form of slavish devotion "true freedom" almost verbatim what apostle Paul called "servitude for Christ":
"Praise be to the father-war
As a servant I am serving myself and I bathe in anticipation
Unless you taste it you could never know
All the power our Lord bestows
With a bow? and a kiss profane
Be a victor or be a victim"
(Morbid Angel/"Dominate"/"Domination"/1995/Earache Records, emphasis mine)
Impiety appears to revel and wallow in such form of Satanism which makes their lyrics laughable. The music, however, though nothing unique or groundbreaking overall, is, mostly, a pleasant surprise. The hype may not remotely be justified but this is true metal unlike some of the other relapses out there (cough, At Vance, cough). Not really essential or with any depth to it, but good, well written and executed shit.
www.mightyimpiety.com
www.pulverised.net
Rating: 4 / 6
Composed by Dethster4life