Sweden delivers the goods again! Death Metal is still on the rise and bringing forth new bands by the day. It’s no secret that the majority of the bands from today heavily rely on the blueprints laid down by Death Metal bands from some thirty years ago. Whilst Death Metal was once breaking trends, it’s now becoming the trend in modern Extreme Metal with countless groups producing albums as close to the ‘original’ formula as they can. Whilst this obvious paradox is interesting to the philosophical side of the reviewer, it’s a blessing for the old school lover side of yours truly.
Enter Impurity, a young Stockholm band that’s just put their first full-length on the market. ‘The Eternal Sleep’ stands not only as proof to the argument above, it is also a testament to the greatness of the Death Metal bands of old. It’s a record that could have been lost in time and only be rediscovered now. As if it were the unreleased sophomore record of bands like Carnage, Dismember, Authorize or Entombed. In realizing this, another paradox rises. How can a band called Impurity release an album as pure to the Death Metal formula like ‘The Eternal Sleep’? The answer may be hiding in plain sight. It’s even recorded in the infamous Sunlight Studio and mastered by no-one else than by Dan Swanö!
Let’s switch off the mind and leave complicated matters like paradoxes and other philosophical themes for the conformed normies. Let Impurity play their album and enjoy it like we did in our teenage years. ‘The Eternal Sleep’ successfully reignites the flame of the old Stockholm Death Metal scene. The atmosphere that it projects falls straight in ‘Let Hand Path’ and ‘Like an Ever Flowing Stream’ territory, and that might suspect that Impurity haven’t got an inch of originality, but who cares when it’s done absolutely right.
At the heart of the record are blisteringly heavy guitars. Of course, the guitars are given that extra punch by the HM-2 pedal, which is both a must for a band as Impurity and a constant joy for the ears. The challenge for any new band that confines its style to a strict vision is staying ‘fresh’. The level of old school brutality is set high on this record, but the amount of subtle melodies throughout the songs allow for some, much needed, room to breathe. An honourable mention should go out to the drums. These operate almost entirely at full force, but are played varied though. The drummer crams in a lot of fills and creative patterns to accentuate the riffs. These little additions lift the record to a higher level of quality and show that the bands songwriting skills are on point this early in their career. The only downside worth mentioning is that the hooks lack sticking power, as most of the record isn’t that memorable.
Impurity has arrived the already overcrowded scene of today. They’ve done so by releasing a monster of an album that is a true testimony of their Death Metal influences. Despite holding little innovative value, the precision and flawless execution of their vision is as admirable as it is enjoyable. ‘The Eternal Sleep’ will satisfy your appetite and, more importantly, it will sever lesser copy-cats to shreds.
Hammerheart Records
- Country: Netherlands
- Style: Black Metal, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Thrash Metal, Other
- Links: Homepage, Facebook, Instagram, Bandcamp, Youtube
