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Impaled Nazarene > Absence of War Does Not Mean Peace > Reviews
Impaled Nazarene - Absence of War Does Not Mean Peace

Continuing the new way - 85%

CHRISTI_NS_ANITY8, December 11th, 2008

With the Nihil album we could already notice a more polished style and music from Impaled Nazarene because of the new guitarist on that album: Alexi Laiho. He brought with him a lot of the influences from the melodic metal he used to play with Children of Bodom, especially on the lead guitars lines, while the rest was still quite brutal but with signs of change. To the always present brutality by this band, there’s now opposed a more care for the structures.

Absence Of War Does Not Mean Peace continues this way with more thrashy riffs and an eye to the melody. The time of the pure speed and rawness seems quite far now even if the band has never forgotten the roots. “Absence of War” welcomes us after a short intro and we can hear the new, blasting production that gives power and relevance to each instrument. The tempo is generally quite fast but the melody on the riffs is always present to make the whole song quite catchy too. The screams by Mika are always nasty but in some parts they are not like in the past, suffering a bit the steps of time.

“The Lost Art of Goat Sacrificing” displays more of those melodic influences and we can find them on the less direct arpeggios on some parts. The other riffs are more in palm muting style and less on open chords and often they are accompanied by lead lines under. The punk style is always present with the deserved addition of melody on “Prequel to Bleeding (Angels III)” and “Hardboiled and Still Hellbound”. The lead guitar draws really catchy and almost power metal lines sometimes and they are well-stuck in this kind of sound. It’s a totally new thing for Impaled Nazarene but it’s not bad at all…maybe a bit of differentiation was and still is needed to create better pieces but they are quite entertaining.

A special mention should be given to the great drumming on this album because it kicks asses, especially with this clearer production. The bass drum is constantly on speed on these tracks or at least on triplets. The fury of “Humble Fuck of Death” is another fist in the stomach for its fast tempo and the heavier riffs, remembering the old times. “Via Dolorosa” is definitely more hard rock in style and tempo. The riffs are quite good but not that innovative. The melody once again plays an ultra important role here for the catchiness. “Nyrkillä tapettava huora” is completely different because it displays a faster and more brutal approach with almost pure black metal riffs.

“Never Forgive” is the very first mid-paced song and features the keyboards parts over the slow march of the other instruments. The keyboards are utilized just as a base under the other instruments in giving the right, mystic and dark atmosphere. It’s a thing they already did on the previous album and it works quite well. “Satan Wants You Dead” is the fastest and shortest song here, being 20 seconds of blast beats while on the last “The Madness Behind” we can notice a slowness of the tempo in order to point more on the guitars work to add an obscure atmosphere. The riffs are usually quite simple but efficient to this purpose.

Overall, this album will surely divide the new and the old fans of this band. The progression continues and the melodies are now far more important for Impaled Nazarene. It’s a fact and we must accept it. However, the album is quite good even if it’s far from the sheer brutality of the early works but it’s always fast, just with an eye to the melody.

Disappointing, but still awesome - 82%

GoatDoomOcculta, February 25th, 2007

Impaled Nazarene's The Absence Of War Does Not Mean Peace is seen by many as their weakest release to date, and thus, is often unfairly bashed far beyond that which it deserves. Contrary to what another reviewer has said, Impaled Nazarene has been progressing their music ever since Tol Cormpt Norz Norz Norz lead to Ugra-Karma. The fact of the matter is, Impaled Nazarene that has been changing their sound and style since their creation, going from a sort of "blackened cyberpunk" (at Luttinen put it), to raw, sometimes melancholic black metal, to...this, which can best be described as black metal with a lot of power metal influences. The bar had been set too high by their previous CDs, particularly Nihil, Rapture, and Latex Cult, that many people don't appreciate this CD nearly enough, simply because of its crystal-clear production and digression from their previous sound. Just because it's not what you were expecting does not make it a bad album, which Abscence of War certainily is not.

As soon as the short, eerie intro track ("Stratagem") fades, it becomes apparent that this is definitely not the Impaled Nazarene that you've gotten used to over the past decade. Absence of War takes off with the title track, which assaults your ears with some modified Primal Fear riffs (that's what these are, people) and Kellokoski's typical lightning-fast drumming. This song is, unfortunately, one of the three or four tracks on the CD that doesn't have pretty much the exact same tempo as all the rest. The dissonance of Absence of War soon fades into The Lost Art Of Goat Sacrificing, my favorite track on the CD, which, sadly, sets the pace for pretty much the rest of the album. None of the past chaos is here, and all the songs are played at a relatively fast tempo with a lot of tremolo picking and excellent drumming. Somnium (RIP :( ) performs spectacularly, outdoing even Alexi Laiho's work on Nihil, in my opinion, with some obscenely fast playing.

Absence Of War Does Not Mean Peace, unfortunately (for later albums), marks the end of Mika Luttinen's truly incredible vocal style. The sheer brutality of his growls to the incomparable harshness of his screams that we've all come to know and love is very well-showcased on this CD. One of the few songs with a different tempo than the rest of this album, "The Madness Behind", will clear any doubt from your mind that Mika's voice is a force to be reckoned with. The things this man acheives throughout the album, and on a regular basis for that matter, are what most vocalists would consider themselves lucky if they could do with all the equipment in the world.

Although Absence of War marks a rather distinct departure from their black metal roots, and positively reeks of power metal with a lot of the riffs, it is undeniably a black metal album through and through, and anyone who says otherwise has obviously never listened to it more than once. While certainly their worst CD to date, it's still spectacular, and I highly recommend picking it up, for anyone with even a remote interest in extreme music of any sort. Even non-fans of black metal should be able to appreciate this gem.

This rocks! - 78%

Snxke, July 6th, 2004

I'll admit to openly hating this band. I've considered them second (or even third) string players since hearing much of the early material. I don't like blast-beat voids that go nowhere...I didn't like Impaled Nazarene. This updated release though is something to behold! Melodic guitars, catchy beats and hooks, talented musicianship? WOT IZ THEEEEZ? I enjoy this CD immensely in comparison to the early works! Not to say that this is the perfect release to save black metal or anything...but it's still quite the step forward for an act that I willfully ignored for so long.

The song here have leads, harmonies are catchy movements that will leave you tapping your foot and screaming for satan all in one breathe. This reminds me of a blackened painkiller even... The juvenile approach on the early records actually WORKS here as the band is attempting to have a bit of FUN with it's black metal instead of trying to bore us to death with it's "evil" black-beast-nowheresville creations. Sure, this stuff isn't brilliant, but it's well crafted with good melodies, and helps them move from the very bottom of the second tier bands to the middle headed towards the upper sanctum of the black metal echelon. We'll see where they go in the future with this sound...

I am thankful that I can finally say I have enjoyed a creation by these blokes as I honestly was beginning to respect their inability to quit and move on. I still can't say that they are amazing...but I can finally say they have done something worthy of my attention and that is more than enough to satisfy me.

Many will hate this...most will probably hate this. Leave it to me to be the one who thinks that this is one of the BETTER albums they have produced.

Hail Satan?

The Lost Art of Making Different songs on a CD - 60%

PseudoGoatKill, June 3rd, 2004

I recently picked up Impaled Nazarene's "Absence of War Does Not Mean Peace" as an impulse buy, and plus it was only $5.99 so I thought What the hell? A couple of my friends had told me that I'd probaly like them, so I got the CD.

Well my friends were sort of correct, I like the CD but at the same time hate it. The band uses alot of blast-beats, alot of differentiating guitar riffage, and has some fast drumming. The singer has a nice gutteral screaming voice that keeps pace throughout the whole CD. So with all of these elements then this CD should be one of the best, right?

Umm, no. Even though the band makes good use of the instruments and the vocals eventually the CD begins to blend together abit too much. Many of the songs sound too much alike, even with the differant lyrics and the change in riffs and drumming. The CD changes, but often keeps the exact same pace. Which I find boring. There are two songs that really stand out on this CD. "Absence of War" Has some of the best guitar work, and drumming on the CD, and "The Madness Behind" is one of those sick pleasure songs that changes up slightly from the rest of the CD

If you ever see this CD, even in the bargain bin think to yourself carefully. If you like your metal to have minimal changes then buy this CD, you won't be dissapointed. If you like your metal to be more complex then don't buy this CD. There are far better black metal CDs than this.

Absence of chaos doesn't mean a bad album - 73%

Lord_Jotun, January 17th, 2004

So... even Impaled Nazarene can evolve musically now! I wonder where is this world going... Ok, quite honestly, the band had already showed signs of progression on their previous opus, "Nihil", so this doesn't come as a really overwhelming suprise. Yet, "Absence Of War Doesn't Mean Peace" still stands as a kind of watershed when we compare it to, say, "Ugra Karma" or "Suomi Finland Perkele". Gone are most of the band's early Black Metal references, while a good does of Thrash grooves and Punk / Hardcore echoes have found their way in many of the songs. The experimentation with lead guitars which took place on the previous full length (thanks to the inclusion of Children Of Bodom's Alexi Laiho) also left some traces here, albeit very vague: although the new line-up features Finntroll's stringmaster Somnium (R.I.P.), he does play two or three leads on the whole cd, the remaining ones being èerformed by the album's producer Anssi Kippo.
Speaking of production, "Absence Of War Doesn't Mean Peace" easily emerges as the band's most clean sounding record so far. The guitars are crisp and powerful, the bass is deep and clear, the drums don't sound too processed and Mika's vocals have never sounded so powerful: the perfect sound to enhance the band's new brand of aggression.

A short intro named "Strategy" opens the tracklist with a marching drum pattern and some cool synth-lines, and leads straight into the first proper song, "Absence of War", a typical Impaled Nazarene outburts of aggression with enough room for some good melodic ideas in teh riffing; Mika's vocals sound more high pitched than the past, but are way clearer and sound even more pissed. The drumming on this track is also impressive, fitting the song's rhythm with an interesting "marching blast" pattern.
Next comes "The Lost Art of Goat Sacrifing" (hey, it's ok to progress as long as you don't want Impaled Nazarene to desert the goat themed songs!), a great headbanger backed by great double bass drumming and generally very cool riffs. This song, like most of the others, has a very simple verse-chorus-verse scheme, yet the band's raw energy pumps enough drive into it to keep it from becoming sterile and repetitive. Somium also belts out a brief lead after the middle break.
Then comes the third part of the Angel Rectums Saga, started on "Rapture" and continued on "Nihil"... this song actually is the first chapter of the whole affair, as the title explains "Prequel To Bleeding (Angels III)", Mika spouting out the verses over the speed-injected Thrash / Hardcore riffage.

"Hardboiled and Stll Hellbound" isn't as frantic but still far from relaxed in its pace and was also the track the abnd filmed a video for; it's, however, a nice song to represent the album's general mood but actually not as strong as other numbers riff-wise, and gets a bit repetitive as it goes along.
"Into the Eye of the Storm" shares the same problem, as both the verse and the chorus tend to drag on a bit, but comes out stronger thanks to stronger riffs (great melodic aggression) and a very nice slow break after the second chorus. The lyrics, dealing with man's bittersweet relationship with alcohol, are also excellent, and stand out as unusually serious for Impaled Nazarene's standard, despite the occasional lines like "Fuck this and fuck you too".
Finntroll's keyboardist Trollhorn is credited in the booklet for writing the following instrumental, "Before the Fallout", althogh there's nothing to really justify the fuss, as what we have here is a long synth note with some weird noises going on.
The track that follows, "Humble Fuck of Death", isn't that memorable either; it has the album's fastest drumming but the riffs are pretty much forgettable and the solo isn't anything to write home about either.

The album picks up again with "Nyrkillä Tapettava Huora", another fast track in the vein of "Prequel To Bleeding" but much more intense and interesting melodic-wise; Anssi Kippo contributes with probably the album's best solo while mika reaches a peak of vocal anger by spitting out the hilarious Finnish lyrics (side not: I can't read Finnish but a friend once translated this to me, so I discovered deep and thoughtful lines such as "When I licked your cunt I tasted my vomit" or "Die, whore, die", for what I can remember).
Unfortunately, the moment gets lost with "Never Forgive", an attempt at a slow song gone wrong (and yes, Impaled Nazarene CAN successfully pen slow songs; just check out "Blood Is Thicker Than Water" off "Suomi Finalnd Perkele"): the simple synth lines add some variation but can't save the whole from being repetitive, uninspired and uninspiring.
"Satan Wants You Dead", on the other hand, is a pointless but rather funny 15 second long blasting interlude, possibly the band's mockery aimed at Grindcore.
The final song, "The Madness Behind", has a nice mid-tempoed groove, and although it tends to become repetitive too (it's just a verse and a chorus, repeated for three times with no variations in the music whatsoever) it closes the album on a positive note. Quite good for banging your head without breaking your spinal cord for once.

This album shows a different side of Impaled Nazarene while not necessarily discarding all the band's past trademarks, which is quite an achievement. It may, however, disturb some long time band followers, so checking it out first is mandatory. After all, this is still an Impaled Nazarene record, which at the end of the day means loads of fun. Albums like this are always welcome in my collection.