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Impious: The killer

14/11/07 || Daemonomania

Have you ever listened to The Crown? Specifically, “Crowned in Terror” with Tomas Lindberg doing vocals? What you didn’t realize is that you were simultaneously listening to the album “The Killer” by a less famous melodic Swedish death group called Impious.

Now I realize that Impious has been around since 1994, and were death/thrashing their own way a scant four years after The Crown was birthed, but the similarities between the two albums are so apparent that you’d have to have slippery dildos jammed in your ears not to hear them. Or unlubricated dildos. It doesn’t really matter. From my minimal research, it looks like both albums were recorded in Studio Mega and released a few months apart. Hmmm, maybe that accounts for why I’m getting a “Crowned Impious Killer in Terror” feeling here. Maybe these dudes were just on the same wavelength, or maybe one band was sneaking into the other band’s recording sessions and writing down notes on kicking ass. Maybe they carved holes into the walls of the bathrooms at Studio Mega so that they could watch each other urinate… maybe not.

As a result of the “Crowned in the Killer” phenomenon, it’s pretty easy to review this album. There’s guitar acrobatics, high-pitched growls, drums that are generally speedy when they aren’t Gonzalez, and bass that (insert what you would say about an instrument that no one cares about here). It’s pretty damn good, but lacks that special something that took songs like “Under the Whip” and “Death is the Hunter” to new-classic status. What Impious lacks in quality, however, they make up for in quantity. “Crowned in Terror” has a few great songs and some filler, whilst “The Killer” has a lot of good songs with less filler. More “The Killer”, less “The Filler,” hardy har har.

Both albums start shit with an overlong intro (totally astounding evidence, I know – what fukin “nu thrash” album doesn’t have a too-long intro?), and right from the get-go you know these boys are fast – rumor has it they don’t wear underwear ‘cause it slows them down. Songs like “Burn The Cross” and “The Deathsquad” will run you up one side and down the other. But when they go a bit slower, that’s when the impiety reigns. “Needles of Sin” is a great tune, and “The Hitman” shall splatter ye. And the rest ain’t bad neither. “Sick Sex Six” sounds like they wanted it to be on the radio. Good luck, gang.

Last but not least, let’s talk lyrics and booklet. The booklet appears to be the product of some sort of effort, as it seems to mirror the lyrical content talking about a killer and killing and stabbing and the devil and shit. Sometimes the art is cool, sometimes it looks pretty silly. Same for the lyrical content. “Sick Sex Six” has some bad bad lyrics. But good effort nonetheless.

I think I’ve solved the mystery of why these bands sound so much alike. Impious and The Crown just switched members back and forth during the recording sessions to create an incredibly complex jumble of musicians on each song, thereby blurring the boundaries between the bands to create a SUPERGROUP. An OMNIGROUP. A GROUP GROPE. Whatever. Impious managed to outlast The Crown, so I guess they win. The Crown’s crown is theirs!

6.5 Killers in Terror out of 10.

Information
Released: 2002
Label: Hammerheart
Website: www.impious.net
Band
Martin Åkesson: vocals
Valle Daniel Adzic: guitar
Robin Sörqvist: guitar
Erik Peterson: bass
Mikael Norén: drums

Tracklist
01. Intro
02. Burn The Cross
03. Dead Eyes Open
04. Caught In Flesh
05. The Deathsquad
06. Sick Sex Six
07. The Hitman
08. Kill For Glory
09. Stabbed 69 Times
10. Needles Of Sin
11. Digital Devil

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