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By definition, Death Metal is a genre well known for heavily-distorted guitars, unconventional song structures, fast-paced rhythms and melodies, and harsh, low-pitched growled vocals. Only a few bands of this type have broken ground in the mainstream: Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse, Deicide, Slayer, and Christian music’s answer Mortification. For several years, Death Metal has been strictly an underground genre for most bands. It also strikes fear and concern into the minds of some CCM (Contemporary Christian Music) fans when hearing that Christian-member bands bring themselves into that particular style of music, mainly because it was invented by extremely dark and gothic-sounding bands.
At any rate, the Riverside, CA band Impending Doom have been attempting to make a name for themselves for the past two years with rhythms and vocals that sound very similar to their adversaries. Their debut “Nailed, Dead, Risen” sounds promising at first listen, but contains so much repetitiveness that it’s shameful to know that almost nothing original is brought forth during the disc’s duration of just over thirty-four minutes. The over production of the guitar riffs and drums overtake the vocals in several songs, which are of themselves difficult to follow even reading along with the lyric book insert contained in the CD case itself. It’s more than evident that the majority of “Nailed, Dead, Risen” contains hauntingly creepy undertones with bone-chilling vocal growls.
Fortunately, through the reading of the lyrics, spirituality is more than obvious throughout “Nailed, Dead, Risen.” The title track scoffs at those who mock and curse the name of Jesus by saying “You try and try to obliterate my Father’s name, it sickens me/I stay silenced no more, a despised Savior-despise only me.” “The Mark of the Faithful” boldly differentiates the true believers from the individuals who decide to take the Mark of the Beast during the Great Tribulation, whereas “Condemned” serves as a postlude warning the unbelievers of the fate that awaits them following their death. Of course one of the best tracks lyrically is the emphasis of Romans 3:23 in the grueling “For All Have Sinned.”
Although Impending Doom may suit the tastes of the most dedicated fans of Death Metal, they are definitely not for the faint of heart. Unless you’re easily entertained by a band of this genre, you might want to skip paying the usual $15 - $17 for Impending Doom’s debut. However, bands like Impending Doom, former metal heavyweights Living Sacrifice, and Australian natives Mortification tend to be a dime a dozen in the world of metal, so not all hope is lost.
| Production | 6 | | Lyrics | 7 | | Message | 8 | | Overall Quality
6 |
Release Date: September 4, 2007
Label: Facedown Records
Track Listing
1. Left Behind
2. My Nemesis
3. In Reverence Of
4. The Mark of the Faithful
5. Nailed, Dead, Risen
6. Condemned
7. At the Churches' End
8. Silence the Oppressors
9. For All Have Sinned
10. Feeding the Decomposing
11. He's Coming Back
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