There Will Be Muffins

With a name like Impending Doom, you know the heavy can't be far behind. This five-piece (reduced to four since the recording of the album) death metal, or as they call their particular style "gorship" (a cross of gore and worship), group just put forth their third album, There Will Be Violence, and they certainly delivered.

I'll be honest, I didn't like Impending Doom for a very long time. The "pig squeal" death metal vocals were never something I enjoyed, so their debut album was quickly brushed off my listening list. I pretty much ignored their second album due to my disinterest in the first. However, when they posted some of their new material online, I decided to give them a second chance. So I found their sophomore effort, The Serpent Servant, and gave it another listen. To my surprise, it began to grow on me. So I decided to pick up the new disc when it came out, and it was definitely worth it.

"Hell Breaks Loose" brings the pain right off the bat - this instrumental introduction is absolutely crushing. And these boys don't let up. They bring track after murderous track as this album progresses. They use elements from many different styles just to top it all off.

Now, this is not the Impending Doom you remember from Nailed. Dead. Risen. They've grown as individuals and as a band, and they've branched from the original brutal death metal/grindcore style they started out with. Though they still throw some blast beats in there, they've evolved beyond their roots without abandoning them.

On the musical side of things, this band has some versatility. None of the songs bring anything terribly complex to the table, but they manage to incorporate death metal (as in "There Will Be Violence", "The Great Fear"), thrash/metalcore, ("Orphans", "Peace Illusion"), and even groove metal on the instrumental track "Love Has Risen". The guitars shred through each song, and the vocals have such a brutal tone to them without falling into the low end squeals of their past. Everything melds together to craft a stellar deathcore album.

The stand out tracks on this album are definitely "There Will Be Violence" and, surprisingly "Love Has Risen". Normally, I'd never give an instrumental much recognition, but this song is a masterpiece. They meld death, groove, hardcore, and thrash together for such an enjoyable listening experience that I had to point it out.

When all is said and done, this album shows how much Impending Doom has progressed since their start five years ago. They pushed their limits and There Will Be Violence definitely deserves your attention.

>Pawn