#impenitent

specifically around the idea of siring new vampires, the idea that you can only become a vampire by having someone give you an addiction that without it you will die, without them you will die, is hot. the idea that your new siress will bite into your neck, draining you and killing you, and then fill you back up with new purpose and new desire. the warmth of a neck, your neck, the pressure and tension, your pulse beating through into your head the entire time right before it never beats again. then, they breathe new life back into you, awakening a primal, urgent need for their blood. they bare their neck to you, so naïve and innocent that you are, and coyly they purr into you, held in their arms, their desire for you to drink from them, have your fill.

the first drink has to be like lightning in your brain as the joy, the elation, the pleasure, your purpose all pour into you for the first time. the most delicious thing you've ever tasted. blood staining your entire torso, whether your own or theirs, it doesn't matter, it's all the same, it's all magnificent, the smell, the copper and iron and salt of fresh blood filling your nose as you just continue to seek more and more. until finally, they grab you by your hair and pull you off of them. but you're still hungry, a new bottomless well is inside you and it is oh so empty. scraping blood off yourself with your fingers and lapping it up. begging for more. you'd never take more from them than what they'd give you, anyone but them, you can't deny them even if you wanted to. and so you beg, you plead, tears roll down your face until you realise those are blood and you lap them up too.

Necrocracy / Impenitent - Necrocracy / Impenitent  (split CD)

 III: Barbarism

One of the most extreme acts to play at this year's Hordes of Belial Festival, black metallers Necrocracy certainly left their mark on crowd and me. So when at their merch table I saw this for sale for good price, I had to go get it. Little did know until I was home that this was actually a split release! A nice bonus. How nice though? Let’s dig in and find out.

Hogging the album art and the reason for the disguised split, up first of course is Necrocracy. They present a neat package of 3 tracks and a live track, of a unique mash of stompy sounding black metal, with some death metal punches. Giving a sound that's in a 70:30 black to death ratio. Kicking off with fury is “The Berzerker”, that doesn’t waste any time getting stuck in. With some wild tremolo picked guitar grooves and discordant black metal riffs, (throwing a solo for good measure too). Backed with a full sounding bass (a rarity in black metal standards), while the drum unleashes barbaric waves of blasts and thrash like snare abuse. Before quickly getting settled into a rhythmic back and forth kind of sound, providing much stomp. Vocals are a harsh mix of death metal swine growls and black metal shrieks all in a thickly distorted muddy fuzzed production cloud.

Track two “Survivalist” lashes on a stun gun long low growling shriek intro, before rocking an epic Darkthrone “Transylvanian” riff. Super! After circling the block a few times with this, the band settles into a slower groove stomp as before. The stomping comes mostly from the drumming, that bang and bash out quite the array of blasts and strum along in a monotonous way that keeps the band all in the same 2 or 3 gears for the other tracks too. Monotony can work in black metal though (just look at Burzum and the likes) so this isn't the worst thing, and there are great riff ideas and intro parts to make this pass well with the Kvlt crowd. For all their mighty fury and hellish noise they make, they are just not that very memorable songs. More than once I forgot I was listening to this until the final live track came on (jolting me awake with the louder mix. A more death metal orienteered track too). On stage, these guys were as on fire as a Norwegian church would be in 1993! A brutal punch in the jaw kind of anger came forth, unfortunately, it seems the release, however, fails to truly capture their energy, instead gives us a passable blackened death release, that is smoldering but not truly alight, yet... [7/10]

https://www.facebook.com/NecrocracyOfficial/

http://necrocracymetal.bandcamp.com

Now to the bonus ball and band 2 of the split, the anonymous duo of Impenitent enter; bumping the volume up by a punch. If Necrocracy muddied the waters a bit with the death metal ideas added to the black metal stream: Impenitent filters the stream back to a pure black metal sound.

Truly epic and grand jangly black riffs spring forth immediately giving me the church burning chills right from the start. The guitars on this are excellent, there is a horde full of great moments just in the guitars. Drums too do a robust job filling the sound with all the right boxes ticked there too, completing the void from the absent bass. Vocals on this side are just a fuzzy in the mix but work better with their Immortal influenced sound, but the pull in so much more. Track 2 is a thrashier number full of blackened spikes, a Viking metal edge comes in on last track with some choir vocals, the acoustic guitar gets an airing, and a splash of keys in there too.

Unfortunately with any split release: it invites completion, and its then impossible to not compare bands on some level, but if I have to pick the “subjective” better band Impenitent would win. They just seem to have more ideas and fresher dynamics to the tracks (they change gear more.) to keep me invested more. Although with more drawn out tracks so some ideas will wear thin with some folk. The fury too is toned down slightly and is not as angry though. Overall though this is a wickedly interesting walk down the blackened path once more. [8/10]

https://www.facebook.com/IMPENITENTmusic/

https://soundcloud.com/impenitentmusic

First time covering a split release, so I hope it's okay. More reviews are in the pipeline both gig and album reviews. Stayed tuned...

Like me on facebook: facebook.com/moleofmetal/

“Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, But such as keep the law contend with them” (Proverbs 28:4 NKJV).  Only lawbreakers praise lawbreakers.  Only the wicked defend the wicked. Those who live lawfully must stand up against them.  “He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, Both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD” (Proverbs 17:15 NKJV). It is an injustice…

(Romans 2:5-6) But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. He will render to each one according to his works: ESV #Bible