### Cephalic Impurity: Unique brute revival

#### 15/02/11 || cadenz

Russian comrades Cephalic Impurity approach us with their sophomore full-length. The name, record title, band logo and awesome cover painting (whoever did that, mad props!) give the impression of death metal, of the kind you don’t play for your grandma, if you’re not looking to assist and speed up her journey into the next world. And the illusion is not shattered upon pressing “play”; CI play brutal death metal with some technical flair, and they do it good.

Furious blasts, growling from beneath the cellar floor tiles, disharmonic and unsettling riffage and various tempo changes is the name of the game here. No nonsense whatsoever. “Unique Brute Revulva” doesn’t get dull either, as our ears are kept from falling asleep by some unorthodox arrangements and riffs that, even though they’re fairly fast and technical, still manage to have a grasp of some kind of musicality. Once in a while CI also throw in some straight-forward riffs with elements borrowed from punk or thrash, for variety’s sake.

The production is quite clear but still fuzzy and sharp around the edges, and I’d say it suits the music well. The bass is buried somewhere in the dungeons, but otherwise everything is audible. All instruments are meticulously played, and all is tight like Titanic’s asshole before he… she… it got surprise buttsecks from the biggest iceberg since the intro scene of Ice Age. Of course, in these days you never know how much is quantized to shit afterwards, but we can only go by what we hear. Sounds tight. Like…

Ivan’s vocals tend to become a little one-dimensional after a while, but I like his deep growls. I also like the fact that CI’s guitarist has the same name as one of the hottest chicks in TV action series history. The drummer, Andrew, shines the most on “Invasion”, where he does some cool stuff almost all the time. Worth a listen.

All in all this isn’t the catchiest record I’ve heard, far from it, but the song-writing is definitely professional enough to warrant more listens. I think I’ll even go as far as saying that this is the best record I’ve heard from Russia. Not that I’ve heard that many, and most of them were a total waste of time, but still. If you’re seeking to get imaginatively pummeled to within inches of your demise by some crazy comrades, buy this record. Or they’ll pummel you.

- Information
- Released: 2010
- Label: Soulflesh Collector Records
- Website: Cephalic Impurity MySpace
- Band
- Ivan: vocals
- Nikita: guitars
- Leo: bass
- Andrew: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Discordant Path
- 02. Unique Brute Revival
- 03. Gruesome Splendour
- 04. Invasion
- 05. Chamber of Moans
- 06. Constant Misery
- 07. Mind Worms Quest
- 08. Taxidermic Insanity