Beats and yelling: Imprecation

Vomitum Tempestas
Out 30^th June on Nuclear War Now Productions

Texan death metal engages in a distant but often proactive dialogue with the genre’s macabre roots. Blaspherian, Condemner, Imprecation, all are muscular, direct, energetic iterations of death metal. But on closer inspection it becomes apparent that their raw physicality is a façade, a delivery mechanism designed to convey a fragmented, nihilistic darkness laying in wait beneath the layers of muscle mass. These overtly “evil” overtures prompt many to add the “blackened” caveat when classifying their work, but connecting this material back to Possessed, early Deicide, Morbid Angel, and of course Slayer reveals a clear continuity that (especially in the case of Condemner) may cross pollinate with black metal, but remains unambiguously death metal, perhaps more so than the majority of today’s scene precisely because of this coating of unapologetic, theatrical flair.

With this new EP, Imprecation continue the onward march established on ‘In Nomine Diaboli’. Melding a sluggish reiteration of the pulsing, percussive death metal of Morpheus Descends and Suffocation with gestures toward drab, gothic doom. This latter feature appears in a rather literal guise (as opposed to the miserycore normally associated with the term). Slow, doomy passages peppered with glum orchestral flourishes befitting of traditional horror. Despite the temptation to reach for Incantation as a worthy reference point, Imprecation are more flamboyant, unpredictable, and explicitly melodramatic, inserting – consciously or not – imagery of classic Victorian gothic horror to juxtapose with the oftentimes mechanistic fury of the faster segments.

The mix is perhaps murkier than we have previously seen from Imprecation. A cloying, sweaty atmosphere is established early on, thus elevating even the most rudimentary link phrase with a sense of occasion. Drums are demo quality, the nuances of the performance lost beneath the haze. The snare continues to cut through however, granting the listener an anchor when all else is lost. The down-tuned, throbbing guitar tone dominates all, fleshing out the atmosphere and papering over intricacy. Whilst this makes keeping time in the faster passages a seat-of-the-pants job, when Imprecation lurch into a ponderous mid-pace, one is presented with a complete picture between overt melodic darkness and timbral muscle. Scant use of keyboards in the classic horror tradition and some brief but well placed harmonic guitar leads only serve to emphasise this. Vocals remain consistently violent, a guttural bellow reaching for the tortured histrionics of a Martin van Drunen.    

Whether through experience or intuition, Imprecation remain that rare thing in modern death metal through their ability to convey a clear aesthetic intention undergirded by compositional rigour. There are “darker” sounding death metal bands out there, but for all the vast majority they conjure it is often unclear what they are trying to communicate beyond a gesture toward a particular colour palette. ‘Vomitum Tempestas’ by contrast, displays a clear purpose and reason for being. An immersive, complete cinematic picture underwritten by an undeniable sense of power and overwhelming force, juxtaposed with a nuanced, near mystical will to conjure forces beyond the rational self.