A one-man brutal juggernaut is one of the latest additions to the blackened death metal underworld, and the Swiss mastermind, Beliath, has exploded onto the landscape with his technically astute first born, ‘The impalement’.
Weighing in at just 7 tracks, ‘The Impalement’ carves you open and injects your jugular with intricacy and brutality in equal measures. Beliath has even drawn on his previous resume as there are definite undertones of Nargaroth, allowing this track to give a discreet nod towards the black metal behemoths.
‘The Impalement’ opens with the title track and is aggressive and violent with facets of beauty and elegance throughout. The vocals from Beliath are raw and spiteful whilst keeping a harsh guttural edge throughout.
‘The Tombs Of The Saints’ is doomier and heavier than its predecessor. The intro leads into a pounding and pulsating backbone. The vocals are commanding and direct the flow of the track through the angry terrain. There is a refreshing melody at the forefront, this is bolstered by a demonic and pulverising soul on which the bones of the track are attached. A beautiful and mesmerising guitar solo is introduced to you amidst all the violence and this allows you to take a moment and reset before the onslaught batters you once more.
‘Within The Court Of Rats’ is insanely thrashy and speedy from the start. The kick drum can clearly be heard going at hyper speed, while the fretwork is technical and methodical, and the vocals seem to have been tuned down a notch as they are more raucous than we have experienced prior to this track. The track switches direction towards its conclusion with a beautiful guitar doodle, an absolute angel sat on top of the barren and harsh landscape we have already trodden. A genius ending to the track.
‘Alma Pater’ is crunching and vindictive, the six string is the obvious lead, backed up by the usual recipe of belligerent vocals and ridiculously speedy kit work. ‘Alma Pater’ is powerful and has a definite purpose and direction to its flow and make up. The vocals introduce a certain Nergal esque feeling to the track and if you allow just your hearing to process the track, you will hear a definite resemblance to the Polish Uber Gods of Behemoth. The track is populated with intricate segments of complexity and sophistication. This is a highlight on the package for me and one that will have me pressing play repeatedly.
‘I Am All’ starts with an intro before launching into an assault on your senses once more. The vocals are leaning more towards the black world while the musical score supporting this is more solemn throughout, the drum work intertwines majestically with the guitars to create a concrete foundation on which Beliath stands proud to belt out his vocal deliverance to his followers. Again, an accomplished, gripping, and hypnotic guitar solo carves the track open before the wounds heal and the track beats you all the way to its conclusion.
‘Satan’s Fire In My Eyes’ starts with a slow and doom-laden riff before picking up the pace ever so slightly to create a melodic and catchy base to the track. This majestic anthemic track injects resemblance to dissection, and it is multi-dimensional throughout. The vocals range from guttural to demonic and satanic. There is power and intensity to the vocals while the guitars seem to have become orchestral and goliath in their adaption to the track. Again, we are introduced to the guitar solo/doodle to round the track off in brilliant intentions.
The album is closed with ‘Thus Spoke I – Gotzendammerung’ and Beliath seems to want to put all his efforts into this, all individual and unique offerings from the tracks that lay before this one come together in a culmination of every skill and talent Beliath has at his disposal and arsenal. The vocal range is unprecedented, and the guitar offerings are widespread and multi-faceted. the track slows towards the end with a thunderstorm raging which leads into screams and church bells tolling in the background. This is a truly captivating and entrancing effort from the Swiss genius and I sincerely hope that there will be many more to come over the years.
(8.5/10 Phil Pountney)
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