Review by Ben for Impious - Death Domination (2009)

When I saw that Impious are from Sweden and that Death Domination, their sixth and seemingly final album, is listed as melodic death metal, I immediately assumed I was about to experience just another band from the In Flames / Soilwork school. This expectation was very quickly obliterated though, as this album gets off to a much more brutal start than those bands ever attempted, with the first couple of tracks ripping along with more typical death metal ferocity. Vocalist Martin Åkesson barks his vocals out with a heap of aggression, and drummer Mikke Norén puts the pedal to the metal, with regular blast beats and a generally high level of energy. There are definitely moments on the album that sit more comfortably beside the aforementioned bands, and the melodic death metal tag isn't unwarranted, but don't be put off if Swedish melodic death metal isn't normally your thing.

All this said, I have to admit that I enjoy the mid section of the album the most, particularly And the Empire Shall Fall and Hate Killing Project, where the band change things up and slow things down. The majority of the album relies heavily on intense vocal rhythms and intense battery, with the riffs often taking the runners up position in the race. When the band take the time to concentrate on writing more varied song structures, things become much more interesting and memorable for me. As things are, this album just isn't all that compelling, and my feelings for it are generally as lukewarm as the middling reception this band tends to get online.