impetus of death

Corpsessed Give Death Metal its "Forlorn Burial"

impetus of death

During the earliest years of death metal’s stylistic diversification, none were as quick to carve out their own immediately distinctive niche as the gory, slime-ridden grind of early 1990’s Finland. Yet with the increasingly widespread renaissance of death metal’s most classic variants, bands seeking to provide a modern interpretation of the original Finnish sound are regrettably rare, and often fail to effectively update the style.

Last month, however, Colorado’s Dark Descent records delivered a piece of extremely exciting news when the label announced they were set to release the second full-length LP from Finnish maniacs Corpsessed entitled Impetus of Death. Formed in Järvenpää in 2007, Corpsessed have readily proven themselves as faithful stewards of true Finnish death metal with two EP’s and 2014’s breakthrough debut full-length Abysmal Thresholds. Their intensely ominous, doom-influenced sound is driven by an obsession with death, its inevitability, and what lies beyond — check out an exclusive stream of Impetus of Death‘s sixth track “Forlorn Burial” below.

“Forlorn Burial” begins with an apocalyptic, gothic riff looming over frigid, barren plains as Niko Matilainen’s cavernous growl rumbles out over the din. As the rhythm guitar and bass begin to chug along with increased intensity, the spiraling, haunting melody gives way to blackened horror cascading down upon the listener as blast beats and galloping tremolo riffs ooze forth from the visage of massively lumbering death-doom. The song then accelerates into unbridled death metal territory, with double-bass and crash cymbals punctuating dissonant, diminished chord changes as layers of demonic vocals proclaim demise for the listener.

It conjures up the fever-dream atmosphere of being swallowed up by the Earth, folded incomprehensibly down into yourself and completely helpless to escape this chilling fate.

And as “Forlorn Burial” reaches its conclusion, its final passage brings the track full circle by reprising its first doom-laden riff with a more sinister melody suspended octaves above the labyrinthine chasms of the hammering guitars – thus, your feel that your fate is now sealed. Perhaps you have returned to the Earth a living corpse. The song contains perhaps the most primeval, gut-level material on the entirety of Impetus of Death, in terms of raw old-school death metal brutality. Complete with a driving d-beat stomp and a gruesomely vile breakdown, it is the only track on the record to fully engage that crazed, meat-and-potatoes, mid-tempo groove.

Although the song begins and ends with a definite doom-metal feel, one can sense that the elements of doom on Impetus of Death – and “Forlorn Burial” in particular – are not intended to create the effect melancholy or sorrow but rather claustrophobia; as they compress and flatten out into slower, more malign creations, the effect is one of remarkably unsettling creepiness. These moments help to build towards the more immediately savage passages throughout the album and help to change up the record’s pacing, keeping listeners guessing with constant shifts in tone. The album’s eight tracks juggle deftly between death, black, and doom metal, but furthermore provide a perfect sonic balance of 1990’s throwback and modern innovation and panache.

— Thomas Hinds

Impetus of Death releases on November 23rd via Dark Descent. Pre-order here.

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