Impaled "Death After Life" CD
[Century Media]
Hmmm... where to begin with this one?  I've been a huge Impaled fan from day one, and I still fall within those ranks.  But, at this point I'm not sure if they're ever going to truly achieve the absolute mastery that I know they're capable of.  What am I talking about?  Well, as they continue to improve as musicians and songwriters, there always seem to be little hitches along the way that hold them back just enough to hinder the efficient listenability of their records.  This time out it's the recording, but what really kills me is that it's barely off, but just far enough to where it really affects the listening experience.  The disc was produced by Trey Spruance (Mr. Bungle), but name power means nothing when this is the result.  It's a much dirtier and rawer sounding record than their last effort, which was a bit of a surprise, but I actually like that rawness when it comes to this stuff.  So what's the fuckin' problem, you ask?  Well, it's too damn flat for one, and the guitars are not at all prominent enough in the mix, so the final product comes off as muddy and lacking in detail.  Aside from the fact that the kick drums are a little flimsy I actually like all of the tones, there's a nice and dirty warmth all around, so I really feel like they would've been dead on were the guitars louder and the overall mix a smidge clearer.  The songwriting is pretty god damn energetic this time out and I'm loving the vocal arrangements, but too many guitar riffs get lost in the shuffle due to the lacking sound quality.  My only other gripes are the storyline segues.  There aren't many of ‘em, and I have to give the band credit for recording their own pieces rather than sampling them like everyone else, but at the end of the day it still breaks up the flow and keeps the metal from truckin' on, you know?  Oh, and the few light uses of synths are senseless and completely overpower everything else when they start to seep into the mix, so screw that stuff.  Other than that, I really like this record.  As usual the band's material draws from a steady diet of Carcass and classic Swedish death metal for a dingy mishmash of death/thrash with memorable structures, ripping solos, and solid melodies.  Some of this material definitely feels a little more complete and unified, where a lot of the energy tends to come from the wild vocal patterns that just kind of run amok all over the place layering raspy snarls and gurgling growls (precisely like their progenitors Carcass circa "Necroticism...", of course) , but the riffs deliver as well.  The only key falter is "Preservation of Death", which has some of the most blatantly thefted riffing I've ever heard compliments of Carcass' "Blind Bleeding the Blind", to the point where I can't really stand for it even if they have twisted things up a bit - it's absolutely impossible not to make the connection.  "Medical Waste" runs damn near seven minutes and has lots of chugging gallop rhythms and midpaced chord progressions amidst the thrash runs and tradeoff leads that help carry the weight pretty damn well; while shorter tracks like "Mondo Medicale" hit fast and hard with no bullshit before moving right along.  Unnecessary synths aside, "Dead Alive" is another churning bruiser with some sick moderately paced rhythms and more of a groove to its speedier moments as well, so it really is only the flawed recording that's making the difference in dampening this material's impact.  Visually things do look nice.  It's typical Impaled, with some gruesome imagery and band photos, as well as crisp arrangements and some metallic ink to give things a more artistic designer's touch.  Lyrics?  Take a guess: "A pallid visage stares in disgust, through sockets laden with crust, at the bungle it would see in us..."  Expect plenty of wordy terminology and horrific tales of medical science gone awry (intentionally - because, after all, the entire record's about experimenting with reanimating corpses).  I don't know, I'm not disappointed by this one or anything, I like it, it's just frustrating because it could be so much more.  I'll always look forward to new material from Impaled no matter what, so I'm letting this squeeze by with a 7/10, but I definitely hope they'll finally nail the big picture soon, ‘cause they deserve it. (7/10)
Running time - 42:08, Tracks: 12
[Notable tracks: Mondo Medicale, Medical Waste, Dead Alive]
Century Media Records - http://www.centurymedia.com

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