Customer Reviews

Death After Life

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Review by Tyler Wagnon:

If you've been surfing around reading reviews about Impaled's newest gore soaked album, Death After Life, you've probably already come to the assumption that the recording sucks. And indeed it does. The snare drum has no pop whatsoever and feels totally lifeless, while the bass drum is mixed too low and needs quite a bit more warmth. The guitars sound really muffled and dirty as well, with the mix being somewhat f*#*** up. It needs work.

Despite this, it's a pretty good album. Impaled is one of the many, many bands strongly influenced by older Carcass. Essentially, they are a Carcass clone, but they are one of the best of the thousands out there. Anyway, you can expect tons of morbid medical imagery, bile-encrusted guitar work, vomitus vocals and much more. Sometimes the guitars take on a thrashy feel that really works well with the non-stop grinding madness.

Death After Life is a bit different than most gore grind albums in that it is a concept album. The basic story is about medical students doing experiments on coming back from death after life. Not the most original subject matter, but a concept nonetheless. It even has skits complete with dialogue and sound effects to bring the story to the forefront.

Although the recording sucks and really makes the album suffer, the music is what counts and it's another good Impaled album. The concept is a bit of a stretch, but the samples are fun and make for a humorous and engaging listen. It's always nice to hear music with a sense of humor.

Impaled is a great grindcore band. "Death After Life" is, so far, one of the best albums of 2005. This contains deep vocals, crushing guitar riffs, downtuned bass, occasional guitar solos, sick lyrics, and insane drumming. The best songs on this album are "Mondo Medicale", "Gutless", "Preservation Of Death", and "The Dead Shall Dead Remain". Ayone who says this band isn't talented can go jump into a volcano. Impaled: Sean McGrath (vocals, guitars); Andrew LaBarre (guitars); Ross Sewage (bass, vocals); Raul Varela (drums).

Death after life has good things and bad things. There are really good songs on the CD, ie: Dead alive, Gutless and Mondo Medicale (wich include a verse that's much like a self-parody of their old songs) I also have to mention the funny interludes, that make a lot of sense if you know the concept behind the album.
Now, the bad news. Some songs sound much like the Mondo Medicale songs... some tracks doesn't sound like new songs at all. I hate when bands do that... it's like they can't offer us anything fresh, you see? I understand it's difficult to overpass the quality and ¨sucess¨ of Mondo Medicale, but they're quite talented musicans and I know they can do it better next time. Good effort.

all of impaled is fire this album is fire as well if you are a fan of carcass, exhumed, or ghoul this is crucial and you must own it

Impaled don't exactly hide the fact that they are one of the world's most hated bands, and they actually celebrate, advertise, and take pride in that fact. And this Oakland, Californian quartet are very easy to despise (or at least overlook) since they are, after all, one of a nearly countless number of Carcass clones with no originality, and lots of "Heartwork"-influenced groove, b-horror movie samples, sarcastic overtones, upper and lower register vocals, and disguisting subject matter. But, as 2005'S "Death After Life" (which is the band's third platter of thrashing, filth-caked, splatterhouse death-grind) demonstrates, Impaled do stand out from the rest of the imitators because the also boast funny lyrics, solid melodies, surprisingly and impressively ripping and technical solos, and (most importantly) excellent riffs that always stand out to the listener, even amid 300 bpm drumbeats. And on that note, plenty of exceptionally deft drumming doesn't hurt matters, either.

Plus, this may not be the heaviest album of its kind (i.e. Aborted's "Goremageddon" blows this out of the water in the brutality department), but you'd be hard pressed to find one that's more listenable. The songs on "Death After Life" never lose sight of the groove, and they also features lots of honest-to-god memorable (and very meaty) hooks, well-placed melodic guitar lines and harmonies, traditional song structures, and great sequencing to make it flow very well and be an effortlessly easy listen from front to back. And as a final positive, this album also has a production job which is much more raw, abrasive, and stripped-down than some of the genre's other releases (see The Black Dahlia Murder's "Miasma," for example).

"DAL" is unquestionably influenced most by Carcass (both newer and latter day material), but it also incorporates some Anthrax and Megadeth-style licks, Deicide-esque vocals, and even some occasional Mr. Bungle-inspired keyboards. Tracks one and twelve, "Goreverture" and "Coda Morte," are skippable intros/outros (although the former does have some noteworthy synth work); and tracks four and eight, "Theatre Of Operations" and "Critical Condition" are nasty skits that might ruin your appetite (that is, if the rest of the album doesn't do it first).

Now onto the actual songs. "Mondo Medicale" is a head-down, circle-pit-ready, full-steam-ahead thrasher. Guitarists/vocalists Sean McGrath and Jason Kocal dish out gobs of killer, bulldozing riffs and leads (their interplay spits sparks and debris like shrapnel!) while vigorously trading off venomous vocal parts (deep bellows and high, skin-crawling shrieks) throughout the song. Meanwhile, skinsman Raul Varela works overtime at walloping away at his trapkit, and turns out one pummeling blast beat after another. Two wailing guitar solos are also tucked into the mix here. Following this comes "Gutless," which keeps the energy going strong, and is probably the record's biggest highlight. It is a positively barnburning riff-monster that is choking with great, blistering, throat-ripping, and super deliciously juicy riffs.

Later on, "Resurrectionists" and "Medical Waste" are two other killer cuts. The former features a great crescendo; its momentum snowballs until around the two-minute mark when a whoppingly huge, fat, momentous, and totally crushing riff is dropped in your lap. And the latter song is a furiously brutal torrent of shredding, smoke-inducing, dogfight riffs. Lastly of note, "Wrought In Hel" is backed by an especially deep, thrashy, crunching groove, and more strong, churning leads; and even though "Preservation Of Death" could very well be a blatant rip-off of Carcass' "Blind Bleeding The Blind," it is still a keeper (on account of its ultra chunky, pounding, "boom boom" guitars, winding solo, catchy chorus, and creepy outro.)

Let it be known that Impaled are definitely not a band that will ever be inducted into the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame, and their music will never be praised for its variety, novelty, or innovation. But really, who cares? They clearly don't. "Death After Life" makes for plenty of very fun, enjoyable, entertaining, and satisfying listening sessions, and is thus a recommended listen for hardcore fans of the genre.

Though I throw myself in front of trains, remove my feeding tube, jump off bridges, or go on rampages in churches, it seems the fates have deemed I cannot die but rather am plagued by the existence of this idiot parade masquerading as a band.

My life is a joke.

First off the cover. Apparently, we hadn't seen the fifty gadjillion covers by other bands featuring hearts on it this year. Yeah... I must've just FORGOT about the Ludicra album cover Mr. McGrath and I were ALSO responsible for! But let's not forget Green Day, Bleeding Thru, or whatever that band is that just put headphones on a heart. Rather... let's forget Impaled.

The band photo is hilarious, and by hilarious, I mean pathetically sad. Here's the scene... three panty-waists and one husky fellow are trying to look menacing in ties. Oh yeah, that was really metal of us. Ties... we're about as scary as a board meeting at Hewlett and Packard.

Now let's get to the meat and bones of this release. And what a skimpy plate of meat it is. We wisely didn't play an intro this time, but rather, programmed one because a computer with no brain can do a better job than us. But the dialogue over it? It's so corny, I just had my first good bowel movement in years. This guy sounds like he announces traffic on the radio. Why is that? Because he does. We hired a traffic announce to be a scary guy. Please, end my suffering now.

Then the music starts. What music? I can hardly tell what's going on here, and I played it! This production is so muddy it reminds me of the band that Swamp Thing started with Man-Thing, with the Heap on a drumset made of human stool. The only thing razor-sharp about these riffs are the razors they make me want to buy to slash my wrists.

The vocals are again indiscernable. We had some story on this album, but it's probably best that it can't be understood because it was easily the stupidest idea since New Coke. Unfortunately, we decided to act like cast members of SNL and put together skits between songs. We come across more like a bad episode of Mad TV. Who taught us to act, Keanu Reeves? At least girls dig him. Us? We got nothing.

All in all, this album is just another reason in a long list of reasons why I shouldn't have been born. I must have done something terrible in a past life to deserve a fate as hideous as being Impaled. Think Mussolini, Sylvestre Mutushka, Ed Gein... One of them must been me.

The one good thing about this album is that you don't have to buy it or listen to it. I, however, did. Pity me.

I was told that Impaled sounds like Carcass. when I popped the disc in, whoever said it was proved wrong. Impaled is a lot heavier than Carcass. although Impaled and Carcass sing about medical stuff, Impaled blows Carcass away. their solos are well executed and they have weird titles.

once again impaled puts their best medical bootied foot forward, showing they are a force to be reckoned with in the E.R., O.R. ,and metal scene.they have yet to reach the true potential they showed on their original fetal remains demo, they are almost there!

if you think metallica is still metal buy this cd come out of denial and stop living a lie

J. Frye

Impaled, like myself, must have worshipped Carcass back in the late 80s, early 90s. When Carcass shifted focus to a more rock base and then called it quits, I certainly, along with the members of Impaled, felt like something special had been taken away from my life. But what differentiates me from the members of Impaled is that I have moved on. I can still listen to "Necroticism - Descanting the Insalubrious" whenever I feel the need for some amazing gore based death metal, but that obviously wasn't enough for these guys. They had to go and create a band with the sole intention of cloning one of metal's finest entities.

Now, those who've read my other recent reviews will note than cloning is not always a terrible thing, as long as there is quality music and some characteristics that differentiate the band from their influences. I rated Scar Symmetry well even though it sounds just like Soilwork. I rated Lost Soul well, even though it sounds like Morbid Angel. Rapture like Katatonia and so on. But each of these bands, while wearing their influences on their blackened sleaves, have also managed to write some inspired metal, as well as allowing their own creativity and talent to produce quality albums of a level close to the aforementioned bands. This is not entirely the case with Impaled. Firstly, they sound so similar to the UK legends that it's blatantly a rip-off. Add to this a production that is lacking in both punch and clarity and the fact that Impaled are clearly inferior to Carcass in respect to both song-writing and musical talent and I find it very difficult to recommend "Death After Life" to anyone but the most die-hard gore fans.

Personally, I love horror movies and gore, so there are the occasional redeeming qualities to Impaled's work that suits my tastes. I'm not sure whether the band stole the clips on "Death After Life" from a particular movie or whether they recorded them themselves, but I find them mildly amusing and they set the tongue in cheek atmosphere for the album nicely. With a better production, some of the tracks on offer here could have polished up nicely such as "Mondo Medicale" and "Preservation of Death", but unfortunately, there are too many mundane moments on the album with nothing even remotely resembling originality on offer. I think Impaled need to look at their choice in career and make a decision. I really can't see how it can be satisfying for a bunch of guys to write music that sounds just like another band, particularly when the band in question is quite untouchable. The theme they have chosen has proved successful in metal for years now, but maybe it's time for Impaled to try something different with their music. Something they could call their own and be proud of.

THE FUNNIEST PART OF YOUR REVIEW IS THAT YOUR A MEMBER OF THE BAND. A LITTLE SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION? ARE YOU PROMOTING? IM SOLD...GOOD JOB