CORPSESSED - The Dagger & The Chalice Dark Descent Records. Unsubscribe from Dark Descent Records? Cancel Unsubscribe. Subscribe Subscribed Unsubscribe 5.2K.
Divine Empire was only able to retain the services of Derek Roddy for a single album before he was off to greener pastures, presumably those made of money, but were quick to find an adequate successor in Alex Marquez, also of the Malevolent Creation family, having by this time already performed with Resurrection and Solstice. Doomed to Inherit was the second of three albums the band recorded for Olympic Records, and the band had developed into somewhat of a flagship for that roster, conjuring more buzz than any other new arrival to Florida death metal outside of Erik Rutan's Hate Eternal. I'm not sure they necessarily deserved such a treatment, but Redemption was solid it forgettable, and the groovier sophomore inches past it in terms of material. Yes, I said groove, and a good portion of this recording is spent in simple, mid-paced riffing which involves a lot of chugging force far well below the competence level of the band members. Yet, when balanced off against the faster paced death/thrash rhythms, blast explosions and streams of melodic dissonance, it creates a successful degree of variation which strangely enough, seems original to Divine Empire (at least off the top of my head).
Sometimes, this goes a bit too far, like the bluesy wailing over the bounce and chug of 'Birth of Legends', and there are some vapid, uninspiring tracks like the peppy thrasher 'Murder Suicide', but Doomed to Inherit also has some rather strong fare that ranks among the best in the band's career. Once again, they put the strongest song up front.
Here, that means 'War Front', a scathing brute with thick, plunking bass and brutal, curving guitar lines cast in flange above Marquez' hammering. Blachowicz hurls out the same blunt vocals as he did with Malevolent Creation, but the song is rather exciting. Beyond that, further quality lies in the cyclic slaughter of 'Repulsive' and the clinical canter of 'Self Inflicted', or the rousing finale 'The Culprit' which is similar in structure to 'War Front'. The ratio of wins to duds is about 6 to 4, but a few of those duds are at least acceptable. The comparisons to Malevolent Creation are obvious, perhaps the Stillborn and Eternal eras, and on the whole it's as good as the latter. I don't often feel any urge to listen to this album, or really any Divine Empire album, but this isn't a bad way to kill 30 minutes, even if the album isn't so technically aggressive as Redemption was. Assuming you don't mind some rather tepid, lazy grooves and chugs scattered about the more inspiring material.
Fun fact: this is also the second and final Divine Empire album with a cover image that isn't awful. Verdict: Win 7/10 (bred to act, not to think). This is a reviews blog initiated by the Penny Arcade Metal Thread community.
We primarily cover metal and other forms of music, but occasionally a film, novel, comic, or game will get some attention. All reviews are honest and rated accordingly with a simple, self-explanatory. Links to MP3s or other copyrighted media are not available on this site. Don't even ask. Comments are enabled for contributors only. We do not discriminate artists with regards to genre, religion or political belief.
Bands, labels, distros and PR reps are all welcome to quote or link reviews where appropriate, just please give credit to the original author. Most (99%) are written by me, but please check the 'posted by' at the bottom of the review to be sure.
Notice: I take periodic breaks from writing reviews in April, August, the first three weeks of September, and December (although I may still post 'best of' lists). Artwork: Wolf of Ansbach.
It’s been four years since Finland juggernauts Corpsessed released their debut rager Abysmal Thresholds, but fear not, they’ve returned in top form with their sophomore record, Impetus of Death, and this disc is well worth the wait. Of course, we can’t forget the EP they released in 2012, The Dagger and the Chalice, but a band as strong as Corpsessed needs a full-length to truly showcase this monster that is their wall of sound. “Impetus of Death” is eight ball-crushing tracks of fierce, grinding, necro-infused steel that’s very much a nod to the 80s/early 90s school of death metal with just enough Bolt Thrower thrown in to make “Impetus of Death” a fast favorite for any extreme music fan. To say this record is heavy is an understatement.
Let’s use two words instead to describe how good this disc is – Mammoth. Every song on this record is an unrepentant bone crusher. Its damage path is wide and malevolent.
When we talk about the “good old days” of death metal, or how this genre should sound, “Impetus of Death” is the shining example of this.’ Impetus of Death by Corpsessed If you’re asking yourself what makes this record so good, the answer is simple: it’s blast beat and riff-driven. It’s the music that drives the vocals. It’s the ominous, down tuned guitars crazily feeding off the interplay between nightmarish vocals and an almost primal, even tribal feel of the drums. Everything comes together, creating an intense atmosphere of creepy, foreboding that builds from the first song all the way to the final track, “Starless Event Horizon,” climaxing in what can only be described as all-out doom and apocalypse that engulfs the listener whole.