Time sure flies by sometimes. It’s already been four years since Corpsessed unearthed their first full-length, Abysmal Thresholds. Notable for their ability to possess that old school sound without having to resort to sounding exactly like one of the founding fathers (like so many bands before them), there’s an air of freshness to the rottenness of their death metal. Something that continues in full with Impetus of Death.
What Corpsessed do best is making a thunderous atmosphere that can pull you in, but also works equally well as a point of devastation. Impetus of Death is downright heavy, and in all the right ways. Whether they choose to rage through with blistering tempos or slow things down to a murky crawl isn’t important (though the variety does help); this is an experience that tends to grab you by the neck and force your attention. Bleak and sometimes suffocating in tone, there’s also a sheer factor of malevolence that you can hear as the riffs march forward, the short but sweet “Paroxysmal” serving as ample evidence if you require it. But perhaps the most radiant track is that of the near 11-minute closer “Starless Event Horizon.” Gloomy and doomy but with enough upticks in tempo to keep it interesting, the atmosphere of the music plays almost as much of a role as the riffs themselves. Add to that the menacing growls of Niko Matilainen and you have yourself a real keeper.
Worth the wait, Impetus of Death manages to capture something that many death metal bands seem to ignore these days: a feeling of pure evil. Corpsessed revel in genuine darkness and continue to enhance their formula with staggering results. An extreme album that’s not to be missed.