With their latest album "Death After Life" American sickos IMPALED have touched down with a financially strong label, Century Media. That will definitely pay off in terms of promotion and tours. The only thing I could say concerning the front cover is that DISMEMBER had something similar a few years ago.

And the music? One really doesn’t have to be a specialist concerning CARCASS to figure out, which direction IMPALED are travelling, a fierce thunderstorm with some Nordic elements in terms of guitar work. But to put down the band as clone of the former English Grinders would be a huge mistake, sure, the guys don’t deliver anything new at all, but mix their influences into usable songs. So "Preservation Of Death" brings us a good portion of ANTHRAX-like riffs, while elsewhere we get twisted guitar power a la old MEGADETH, up to straight sounds like old KREATOR or even TERRORIZER ("Wrought In Hell").

Only the (mostly) weak solos are a bit unnerving after a while and in terms of brutality the pack seems rather tame. Apart from that the Splatter Death Metallers can lay his hands on this, if he can digest straight mutilation. (Online May 10, 2005)