This kind of violence can only come from a band which has spent years sharpening its ‘Slaughterror’ superiority in the underground, and by the time Impiety unleashed ‘Ravage & Conquer’ in 2012, Shyaithan had nothing or little left to prove when it came to blasphemous extremity. Two decades into the band’s existence, the Singaporean outfit was still hungry for the kill, but the attack had become more intricate, with Nizam Aziz’s guitar work adding fresh twists to the band’s familiar Blackened Death Metal assault. Following the lengthy, single-track journey of ‘Worshippers of the Seventh Tyranny’, Impiety returned with eight tracks built to ravage rather than merely overwhelm, welding savage Death Metal riffing to Black Metal venom and the rabid speed of Thrash Metal. With Shyaithan on vocals and bass, Nizam on guitars and Dizazter behind the kit, the lineup was ready to make every second count.
The title track wastes little time getting down to business. The guitars have a nasty, cutting edge, and the drums drive the whole thing forward with the sort of relentless force that makes sitting still an increasingly pointless idea. ‘Revelation Decimation’ and ‘Weaponized’ continue the assault, with Nizam’s riffs switching between fast tremolo picking, tightly wound Death Metal patterns and Thrash Metal-inspired attacks. There is real muscle behind the playing, but this is not just a contest to see how many notes can be crammed into a song. The changes in pace give the riffs room to land, and the rhythm section keeps the music moving even when the guitar work gets more involved. Shyaithan’s vocals remain venomous, barking out their commands from the middle of the wreckage.
‘War Crowned’ and ‘The Scourge Majesty’ keep the pressure on, but ‘Legacy of Savagery’ deserves particular attention for its longer running time and shifting arrangements. Impiety allow the riffs to develop instead of hammering away at one idea until it loses its impact. The technical playing is more noticeable than on the band’s earlier material, yet it does not turn the album into a clean showcase for musicianship. There is still plenty of ugly, punishing riff work here, and Dizazter has the unenviable job of keeping the entire assault together while the guitars change gear around him. The playing is tightly controlled, but the music never loses its spite.
The inclusion of ‘Salve the Goat’ takes the album back to the band’s earlier days, when the Singapore underground was a very different place and Extreme Metal releases travelled through tape trading, small distros and word of mouth. Revisiting that material makes the distance travelled by Impiety easier to appreciate. The band had developed considerably in terms of musicianship and arrangement, but the old blasphemous streak remains intact.
Then comes Bathory’s ‘Sacrifice’, a fitting choice given Quorthon’s importance to the development of Extreme Metal. Impiety do not attempt a reverent recreation of the original. They drag the song into their own Blackened Death Metal sludge, giving it weight and aggression expected from this lineup. Bathory’s influence runs deep through the underground, and hearing Impiety tackle the song makes sense in the context of a band whose roots stretch across Black Metal, Death Metal and Thrash Metal rather than sitting obediently within one camp.
‘Ravage & Conquer’ captures Impiety in a period when the band’s musical attack had become more involved without losing its hostility. Nizam Aziz brings added intricacy to the riffing, Dizazter keeps the machinery charging forward like a fucking machine gun, and Shyaithan Kommand remains at the centre of it all. This is not an attempt to recreate the rawness of the earliest releases. By 2012, underground veterans Impiety had accumulated too much history, too much blood, sweat and too much hell metal firepower to simply repeat their past. The result is a record that takes the band’s established legacy of savagery and gives it sharper edges, with enough Death Metal bite, Black Metal venom and Thrash Metal aggression to keep the Singaporean war machine moving relentlessly. This album will fucking grow on you with repeated listens.
