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Impaler > Charnel Deity > Reviews
Impaler - Charnel Deity

Not perfect, but worth hearing - 81%

enigmatech, March 28th, 2021
Written based on this version: 1992, CD, Grind Core International

Impaler are a little-known UK death metal act whose debut (and only) LP Charnel Deity was released (in it's original version) in 1991 - arguably the single greatest year in the history of death metal. Anything released that year that can be regarded as some kind of "death metal" pretty much immediately peaks the interest of a OSDM freak like yours truly, so I just had to hunt down a copy of this fairly rare British death metal relic. Thankfully, this is a case where judging a book by it's cover (or release date, or other superficial factor) has does some good, because Charnel Deity is quite the good album indeed. While no wheels were reinvented in the making of this album, it's a quality slab of classic death metal and you'd have to be a total goober to ask for more.

The band's approach is pretty straight-forward and meat-and-potatoes, taking influence from iconic, forever classic albums like Leprosy, Consuming Impulse, and Slowly We Rot (perhaps a little Severed Survival too) and in terms of the UK scene, leaning closer to bands like Cancer or perhaps Necrosanct, though some Bolt Thrower-esque grooves can be discerned beneath the album's Floridian veneer in tracks like "Accursed Domain" or "Astral Corpse". There are plenty of fast moments too, the riffs are really quite nasty when they need to be ("Total Carnage" is freakin' lethal! I'm sure the mosh pit went crazy when they played this one back in the day) and blast beats are implemented surprisingly frequently, but tastefully. The vocals of "Edd" are quite good too, he sounds a tad like Chuck Schuldiner, but a bit deeper and more guttural. It's a familiar, but well-executed style. Shame this guy didn't lend his rotten pipes to any bands after Impaler ended! The songwriting is mature and impressive, as mentioned above it's fairly "slow" music but the songs have enough twists and turns that it never gets boring. It's nothing we haven't heard before (perhaps literally, I swear the opening riff of "Engulfed" is an old school Obituary riff but can never put my finger on what exactly?) but it's executed with style and passion.

The biggest problem with Charnel Deity really lies in it's production. Not exactly a bad sound - no Stillborn-esque travesty by any means, but it doesn't quite deliver the proper "punch" I'd argue the music needs. It actually feels a bit stiff and cold compared to say, the classic Morrisound or Sunlight material. Of course, Paul Johnston isn't exactly as legendary as Scott Burns or Tomas Skogsberg, but his name's attached some decent sounding albums (Transcend the Rubicon, ...Hope Finally Died, ...In Pains, etc.) and unfortunately Charnel Deity isn't really among them. While the riffs and actual composition is there, something about the production just makes it feel a tad listless to me. The guitar tone isn't very good either, and I can see many people having a problem with it but I guess it has a bit of an "unpolished" feel that arguably works to the album's benefit, intentional or not (and it sounds better for the faster, thrashier moments like the aforementioned "Total Carnage"). Not a big fan of the kick drum either, a bit too loud and clicky for my liking but that's nitpicking.

In the end, you can't go wrong to at least check this out if you're interested in lesser-known death metal acts of the Floridian persuasion - but of course, not from Florida. Just don't go into this expecting a "forgotten classic" as many seem to do with these kinds of albums. This is just another solid slab of good ol' quality, classic-style death metal, like momma used to make, that got lost in the shuffle over the years...if you wouldn't mind having that sound rot in your earholes, don't hesitate to hunt a copy down (if you can find one).

Sounds older what it is - 70%

Lane, April 8th, 2012

In 1992 death metal was getting really big (at least in the scale of metal music), but sadly some releases were nothing special or simply just plain tries to duplicate others' standout material. Impaler's death metal sounds similar to a certain English band: Cancer (R.I.P.). I can't accuse Impaler for being copycats, of course, but I just wanted to point out how things were in general. 'Charnel Deity' is quite possibly the sole relic of Impaler of Leamington Spa, even though guys recorded a couple of demos under the name Carnage (the "unique" name Impaler comes from the name of Carnage's second demo, 'Impaler of Souls' [1991]).

Impaler sound very primitive. Downtuned horror riffage (and infamous slower "chugga-chugga" shredding), a lot of tempo changes from doomy to fast, good ol' English death metal all the way, with insane thrash riffage and solos thrown in every now and then. The album begins with a GREAT horror intro of the first song (these sounds from hell might have been taken from Phantasm movies, I bet), which by the way is the catchiest one on the album. Some solos are quite warped and add to that otherworldly atmosphere. Raw demo level production (pretty heavy with farty bass sound) and partly sloppy playing, especially by the drummer (also, he pretty much sticks to the basic things), just add more of that primitive edge and "let's fucking lay it down" attitude to it. One thing that bothers me is the fact, that at times it (CD version reviewed) all sounds like it was compressed into data form (mp3, real audio file, whatever)! Anyway, generally, this works in totally "mood over technicality" range of thought. Vocals are cool, something like Karl Willetts' (ex-Bolt Thrower) mid-rate growling and throat abuse. Booklet art is good, if that matters to you. The guys seemed to do it all from their rotten hearts.

A release, that offered nothing new or special back in the day, but death metal maniacs should still check this out, if morbid stuff is what you're searching for. Especially those who love old English stuff. This stands together with all early 1990s classic releases from Benediction, Cancer and such English conjurers of morbidity. This has so much more foul spirits than majority of nowaday's plastic shit packed into these 40 minutes, although I must add, that they say all they had to say in shorter time, so there's some recycling of self. I've found, that the best way to listen to this album is with shuffle on, so I can find the subtleties in the songs on the latter half, too. Corrupt your mind with this ugly music, you worms! You know, this, beer and the darts... Oh boy!

(originally written for ArchaicMetallurgy.com in 2003)

A lost treasure of Death Metal - 80%

antipath, November 30th, 2004

This should not be confused with the horror/lame ass other band from the U.S. of the same name. This is a great work from a few UK fellows who never went anywhere after this release. I bought this on impulse because it was death metal, and under 10 dollars. It was by far the best deal ever for a CD. I would compare this to something like Suffocation's Human Waste record and Entombed's Clandestine. There is an excess of speed and brutality here. Not cheap brutality either, but good, solid brutality. This was released in the early 1990's and so it has that tradmark sound and style. There are great guitar solos, plenty of shredding, and razer sharp riffs. Drums are varied between supper fast machine gun speed, and mid pacing. In other words, the drums arent boring. The vocalist is really great, he doesnt vary his technique much, but most bands back then didn't. I would compare him to Suffocation on the first record in terms of his voice. The bass is not too easy to hear but that is due to the production. The only thing really wrong with this is the production. It is really bad. You have to turn up the volume on your speakers to hear it. To a true death metal fan, this isnt too much of an issue, but beginners might be turned off. The only reason I dont give this a 90 is the production quality. If you can ever find this at a store, and you like old school death metal, buy it, this is a must have.