Impious Baptism: Wrath of the Apex Predator

I first crossed paths with Impious Baptism mainman and multi-instrumentalist Jarro back in 2000 when he was playing drums for Australia's celebrated metal overlords Deströyer 666. Fast forward through over a decade of time spent in other noteworthy acts including Trench Hell, Hobbs Angel of Death, Destuktor and death thrash maestros Nocturnal Graves and we finally arrive at Mr.Raphael's first solo outing and one in the most literal sense as he is the band's only member and handled all of the instruments, vocals and even the recording.

Impious Baptism's first proper album, following a demo tape and two EPs, might not contain vast, sweeping deviations from Jarro's earlier work with Nocturnal Graves but there are enough differences to allow this project to stand on it's own. The most noted departure is a shift to a more bestial black/death approach, less Sodom and more Blasphemy if you will. In that spirit you won't find any high-octane thrashers like "Skullthrone" or "Progenitor of Limitless Cruelty" here and perhaps you shouldn't expect to. In their place are a litany of tunes drenched in a churning blast-heavy miasma of sound that has served acts like Archgoat and Teitanblood well in their own endeavors.

Given the strength of Jarro's back catalog I ventured into this album confident that it would prove a strong contender against both his earlier works and the band's peers and I was relieved to be proven correct. Wrath of the Apex Predator might distinguish itself as his noisiest and densest recording to date but the attention to detail paid to songwriting never wavers. This is even more impressive when one considers the macroscopic sameness that can easily pervade this style of metal and render entire albums into one indistinguishable wall of sound. To that end Jarro has taken care to craft material with peaks and valleys, tension and release and all the nuance that should attend thoughtful and dynamic songwriting. These are songs that you'll remember after the album comes to an end and can easily headbang along to anticipating each riff in turn.

Jarro's skill as a drummer is well substantiated from his earlier bands and that legacy of quality continues here. His style is propulsive and often quite busy yet always attentive to the needs of the song. The guitar and bass tracks on the this album won't win any awards for technical extravagance but nor should they be expected to. This type of black/death metal has always been about down-in-the-trenches directness and that is achieved here in spades. The riffs are simple, violent and immediate and seek to bludgeon the listener instead of gently floating by. Arriving in this realm of metal seeking smooth melodic harmonies would result in going home unsatisfied and empty handed. The sound of rampaging barbarian hordes and rolling Panzer battalions is the hallmark of this style and in that regard Wrath succeeds admirably.

Impious Baptism might not be billed as a solo outing but a solo outing it is and with that distinction comes all of the hazards inherent from branching out on your own (consider the unmitigated disaster of Steve Harris' recent flop). Now taken in the context the musical worlds that Jarro and Mr.Harris occupy are entirely different but the stumbling blocks that litter of path of solo work remain the same. It is to his credit that Wrath of the Apex Predator skillfully avoids such pitfalls and emerges as an album different enough from his prior works to avoid being considered redundant and developed enough to warrant interest even from those unfamiliar with those earlier albums.

Track Listing
1. Revelation to Annihilate
2. The Age of Firelords
3. Axis of Lucifer
4. Arcane Funeral Rites
5. Release the Titans Pt. I
6. Release the Titans Pt. II
7. Wrath of the Apex Predator
8. Rites of Illuminated Death
9. Temple of Necromancy

Added: March 10th 2013
Reviewer: Ryan Skow
Score:
Related Link: Band MySpace Page
Hits: 2751
Language: english

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