ALBUM REVIEW: Impii Hora – Asinhell
What happens when two Danes and a German walk into a studio loaded with HM-2 pedals, a knack for writing hooks as infectious as a rash, and a love of old-school death metal? As supergroup-of-sorts ASINHELL reveals: the reinvention of Swedish melodeath in the modern era.
Masterminded by VOLBEAT leader Michael Poulsen, ASINHELL brings together INSIDIOUS DISEASE and ex-MORGOTH vocalist Marc Grewe and RAUNCHY drummer Morten Toft Hansen. Much like Max Cavalera’s GO AHEAD AND DIE or Simon Neil’s EMPIRE STATE BASTARD, ASINHELL acts as a scratch to an itch, a love letter to influences lost in their day jobs.
From the moment opener Fall Of The Loyal Warrior’s chainsaw riffs ring out like like a death knell across a graveyard, to its guns-ablazing blast-beats blasting off into the distance, and the NWOBHM-embellishing solos that shred your soul, it’s clear there’s a formula ASINHELL aren’t tinkering with. All ten of Impii Hora’s tracks tread this path, so much so that by the time halfway marker The Ultimate Sin arrives, you’re left craving a palette cleanser to quench your thirst.
Like your mama’s home cooking, ASINHELL’s refusal to rip up the rulebook doesn’t make their work any less tasty. Let’s set one thing straight: Impii Hora is 40 minutes of Swedish death metal that absolutely bangs from start to finish. From Island Of Dead Men’s sheer velocity and atomic-bomb sized blasts to Desert Of Doom’s MOTÖRHEAD on a diet of death metal and speed, every track showcases just how much fun the trio had writing songs to send you off into mosh pits with.
There are two distinctive elements of Impii Hora which set ASINHELL apart from the pack. Firstly, Grewe’s unique ability to make throat-damaging death growls sound infectiously melodic chimes with the underlying grooves that threaten a few stiff necks the next morning. The title track’s short, snappy choruses — “Bloodlust, vile acts, ungodly hour / Evil, vices, darkest world” – growl off into their own style.
It’s there element two kicks in: Poulsen’s ability to tell stories like he’s J.R.R. Tolkien; entire worlds fleshed out, whilst sounding absolutely timeless and recitable. There’s war, there’s cannibalism, and there’s serial killers — and every line’s written like poetry. Take Inner Santicide’s quickfire delivery of rule-of-three repetition, which makes shouting about Satan so feel-good it should be illegal: “Inner sancticide, holy ghosts crucified, dark saints conspire / Inner sancticide, holy ghosts crucified, chant godless choir / Inner sancticide, holy ghosts crucified, a faith on the pyre”. Sure, Impii Hora stays in its lane so often you’d charge it road tax, but there’s no denying ASINHELL have given us one of 2023’s funnest death metal albums. And that’s what matters, right?
Rating: 8/10
Impii Hora is set for release on September 29th via Metal Blade Records.
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