Latex Cult

Impaled Nazarene’s fourth album came out shortly after an infamous altercation between the band’s bassist (Taneli Jarva) and drummer (Kimmo Luttinen) which resulted in firing of the latter. Sir Luttinen was replaced by Reima Kellokoski, who remains in the band until now (2023). Interviews with IN’s mainman, singer Mika Luttinen (Kimmo’s brother) from that period of time spilled the tea about general disagreement between band members – Mika accused Kimmo (who was a prolific songwriter on first 3 albums) of pushing the band into a wimpier, more commercial direction with songs like “Blood Is Thicker Than Water” (Paradise Lost was often mentioned in this context). Interesting fact: Impaled Nazarene often plays “Blood…” at their shows almost quarter of the century later. Anyway…

Latex Cult was supposed to bring more aggressive and extreme music than the (generally very successful) previous album (Suomi Finland Perkele). And so it did, even though IN has yet to release a non-extreme album, but…Latex Cult does stand out with its punk/crust influences taking the lead or at least having an audible impact on the black metal core sprinkled with industrial intricacies. Heck, Osmose Productions had even coined a ‘nuclear metal’ moniker for the band, announcing the release of LC.

The beginning of the album is catchy, but the band doesn’t leave their comfort zone (presuming there’s one) – not just yet. “Karmakeddon Warriors” is an ultra-fast verse-chorus-verse opener, but what a catchy riff it boasts! New drummer makes sure to accentuate key moments and show off his skills right away. I remember that the video for this song circulated on music channels in mid 1990s pretty often. Trivia stuff: clocking just over 2 and a half minutes “Karmakeddon Warriors” counts among the LONGER tracks on the album. And right after that, Latex Cult rears its ugly head and spews out a barrage of noise. “Violence I Crave” and “Bashing In Heads” arrive like a bat out of hell and it is clear that we’re up for a bumpy ride, with little or none speed reduction. At first these songs may appear sloppy (esp. the drumming), but they were supposed to sound this way – this is crust punk influenced nuclear metal, motherfuckers – not for the faint-hearted!

Once you’re OK with these uglier parts, you might actually learn to appreciate Latex Cult like no other ImpNaz album. There is plenty going on here – take for instance “Masterbator” which kicks off viciously with a great turbocharged riff (akin to “Ghettoblaster” from Suomi Finland Perkele) and then…ups the ante. Or “Alien Militant”, another tune with an excellent riff, but a completely different approach to musical arrangement, with more focus on creating ominous, dehumanized atmosphere. There is even time for some clean melodies here, but we’re still talking extreme metal here. Third and final song I’d like to mention in this bunch is “Punishment Is Absolute”, an s/m anthem with very uplifting, melodic riff which will surely keep resonating in your ears for some time. By the way, this song is preceded by a sound clip (a sample from a horror flick), one of a few on Latex Cult.

And here we come to the best part of the album, at least in my opinion. The sickest of the sick, scum of the Earth, rancid vomit from Mika’s throat. “Zum Kotzen” – the fastest track on Latex Cult, with an ultra-catchy main riff and nihilistic lyrics will rip your head off. “The Burning of Provinciestraat” is a semi-direct threat at some Richard from Belgium (enemy of the music business?) which contains an insane bridge and concludes in Mika’s devilish laughter set against a blast beat crescendo. And finally, the last song on the album – “Delirium Tremens” –pure madness unleashed, both sonic and verbal. P.S. Do yourself a favor and paste the Finnish lyrics for “Delirium Tremens” into Google Translate.

I still own a cassette tape version of Latex Cult released by Morbid Noizz Productions. It contains the whole Motorpenis EP (released prior to LC, first release with the new drummer), not just the title song – a straight up Motorhead worship, which is contained within Latex Cult anyway. These 4 songs, each of them clocking below 2 minute mark, add to the ‘sick and weird’ element of the album. Also, Impaled Nazarene’s rendition of “Alcohol” has got me acquainted with Boston hc/punk rockers from Gang Green.

Latex Cult is by far my favorite ImpNaz album, with just the right amount of madness and dirt and the total playing length at around 30 minutes – perfect for this type of music. I have in my collection and love all of their records, but this stinky fucker has a special place in my heart.

Impaled Nazarene have never been one of my favourite bands, but I've always quite liked them. This is the first record I heard by the band, back when it came out, and I still think it's their best one. It's simple, loud, and in your face, yet I actually find it to be quite catchy.

This album is what I would consider mid-period Impaled Nazarene work. It hasn't got the frantic and sick grindy black metal onslaught of the debut, "Tol Cormpt Norz Norz Norz", but it's certainly free of the power metal influence that has crept in on recent work. "Latex Cult" is clearly most influenced by early hardcore punk like Discharge, and Motorhead. If you don't like hardcore, I still think this is worth a listen, and if you don't like Motorhead....well, you can fuck off and die. Seriously though, what this album is more than anything else, is fun. From the steady, abrasive grind of almost every song on the album, to the fuzz-encrusted bass tone, to the venomous lyrics (mostly about sadomasochistic sex), this album will have your fists pumping and your face splitting in a nasty grin. The guitar sound is raw and sharp as a razor blade, to the point where if you're not listening carefully you might just miss the riffs, but the songs are quite repetitive anyway, so it won't take you long to penetrate the mix and catch on. Short, violent pummeling is what each track will give the listener, and it's true there isn't much variety to be had, but hell, if you want variety, listen to Frank Zappa or something, not punky black metal.

The definite highlight for me is "Motorpenis", which is the most blatant Motorhead tribute on the album (obviously!) and perhaps it's about Lemmy's cock? Anyway, the crusty bass is turned up a notch here and sounds absolutely awesome. There's even a sloppy wah-wah tinged bass solo! I also very much enjoy "Punishment is Absolute", with its manic three chord riff and opening sample from "Silent Night, Deadly Night".

So to wrap this one up, if you are looking for metal with flourish, epicness, grandeur, pomposity, you must look elsewhere. If Darkthrone is too simplistic sounding for your ears, avoid this like the plague as its by far even more straightforward. If a short, fun and raunchy album that probably owes more to punk than black metal sounds like your thing though, do pick this up, and play at maximum volume!