Internal Bleeding

Imperium

BY Denise FalzonPublished Sep 29, 2014

8
Although it has been ten years since Long Island, NY's Internal Bleeding released their last album, Onward to Mecca, their new effort, Imperium, manages to pick up where they left off. Credited as one of the forerunners of New York slam death metal, along with much lauded act Suffocation, Internal Bleeding are back at what they do best: Imperium features the band's classic brutal, slamming blast beats, crushing rhythms and obliterating aggression, which are on full display throughout "Fabricating Bliss" and "The Visitant." New vocalist Keith Devito (ex-Catastrophic, ex-Pyrexia) adds a different element to the band with his acidic, throat-shredding howls.

Imperium finds the band incorporating new layers into their sound, and features atmospheric passages complete with synths and acoustic guitar work during the three songs dubbed "Patterns of Force," which make up the mid-section of the album. The trilogy also features guest appearances by Suffocation's Terrance Hobbs and Frank Mullen, as well as Internal Bleeding's former vocalist Frank Rini. While maintaining their raw approach, the album is much more polished than their early releases, and the new elements provide an interesting departure from an otherwise predictable sound.
(Unique Leader)

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