Are you Baptized in Filth?

When Death Metal comes in mind, a lot of people might picture satanic, gory, and other dark themes. One band takes this genre to the next level, and use it to promote a more Christian message into this genre. You know who I am referring to: Impending Doom! This band from California just released their 5th studio album, Baptized in Filth, on March 13th. This is by far, the bands heaviest album to date next to There Will Be Violence.

Band: Impending Doom
Album: Baptized in Filth 
Genre: Deathcore 
Label: E1 Music
Release Date: March 13, 2012

To start, I’ll just say this: the album is great, but is not perfect. Impending Doom delivers the brutality that they always have, and the album really was great. It was just missing something that There Will Be Violence had. Now with that out of the way, let’s talk about pros of this album. First and foremost, Brook Reeves provides his best vocals to date. His death growls are brutal, and deliver well with the excellent drum work of Brandon Trahan. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xPRhyt_zOo]The opening track, “Murderer”, is an excellent example of the brutality this band puts out. The song starts off with a nice groove, but don’t get too comfortable–once the fast paced drums and guitar riffs kick in, there will be one insane circle pit starting.

As stated before, this band is a Christian band. They call their style of music “Gorship”, meaning they promote their belief in God through the “gore” sound of their music. A prime example is the  track “For The Wicked”, which was also the first single off of this album. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF5lIgJr3ws]This track has the “gore” sound to it and has the lyrics which display their Christian faith such as “Take the number you have chosen. 666, is one with the fallen.” The work on this track is amazing. It has heavy drums, great guitar riffs, and incredible vocals. The band had gone above and beyond to perfect this piece of work.

Impending Doom is a great improviser of Death Metal,as they effectively use Christian themes rather than the expected darkness, which really makes their work stand out. If the idea of Christian Metal seems a bit perverse, just throw out what you thought you knew about that hybrid because these guys definitely hold up the brutality you would expect in any Death Metal band. This band has come a long way over the years, perfecting their style. Even though Baptized in Filth lacked a certain gravitas that some fans wished carried over from previous releases, it explores the band’s musicianship and proves that they can hold their own in the swamp of Deathcore that’s floating out there. If you have never seen them before, check them out on the Metal Alliance Tour 2012. They put on an excellent show, and if you haven’t listened to them before, now is a good time to become a fan.

Rating:

Metal Alliance Tour 2012
3/15/2012 – Austin, TX @ Scoot Inn
3/16/2012 – New Orleans, LA @ The Hangar
3/17/2012 – St. Petersburg, FL @ State Theater
3/18/2012 – Charlotte, NC @ Amos
3/20/2012 – Baltimore, MD @ Sonar
3/21/2012 – New York, NY @ Gramercy Theater
3/22/2012 – Worcester, MA @ The Palladium
3/23/2012 – Montreal, QC, Canada @ Le National
3/24/2012 – Toronto, ON, Canada @ Opera House
3/25/2012 – Columbus, OH @ Alrosa Villa
3/26/2012 – Joliet, IL @ Mojoe’s
3/27/2012 – St. Paul, MN @ Station-4
3/28/2012 – Winnipeg, MB, Canada @ Garrick Centre
3/29/2012 – Regina, SK, Canada @ Riddell Centre
3/30/2012 – Edmonton, AB, Canada @ Edmonton Events Centre
3/31/2012 – Vancouver, BC, Canada @ Rickshaw Theater
4/1/2012 – Seattle, WA @ Studio Seven
4/2/2012 – Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater
4/5/2012 – Oakland, CA @ The Pound
4/6/2012 – Hollywood, CA @ House of Blues
4/7/2012 – Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theater
4/8/2012 – Albuquerque, NM @ El Rey Theater
4/9/2012 – Denver, CO @ The Summit Music Hall
4/10/2012 – Omaha, NE @ Sokol Auditorium
4/11/2012 – Des Moines, IA @ 7 Flags Event Center
4/13/2012 – Memphis, TN @ New Daisy Theater
4/15/2012 – Lawrence, KS @ Granada Theater
4/16/2012 – Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom
4/19/2012 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
4/20/2012 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s East
4/21/2012 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues