Impavida - Antipode

Here’s one of the most intriguing albums in my career of reviewer. “Antipode” is only four tracks. That’s no news, of course. However, two tracks are within the fifteen minute range while the other two are only within the average of three. The two longest tracks “Demons’ Eerie Flutes Accompany the Decay of Corpses Defiled” and “The First Flame Initiates the Cleansing of Putrid Terrestrial Spirits” besides the long and creative names are the ones which show Impavida’s conception of Black Metal which is the crudest possible with speed-of-the-light drumming and buzz saw guitars and eerie and undistinguished vocals. To be frank, vocals have absolutely no melodic line which is valid in Impavida’s concept of Black Metal. From where I’m standing it’s no news at all because Black metal is made to shock and “Antipode” truely shocks.

In fact, “Demons’ Eerie Flutes Accompany the Decay of Corpses Defiled” and “The First Flame Initiates the Cleansing of Putrid Terrestrial Spirits” work in as if they were connected by their musical concept. Therefore, both can be understood as if they were following tracks. “Corpse Devourer” and “Towards the Pyre” are some kind of bridges where Impavida exercise their creativity even more by all kinds of dissonances and exotic tones. By the way, “Antipode” is full of all kinds of dissonances. Though “Towards the Pyre” kicks off with a bass fingering which hovers gently for the very beginning, soon the track gets a creepy mood with unclear and muted voices from the unkown. The icy mood of it give the creeps.

I know that Impavida don’t consider “Antipode” an experimental album, but for sure it does fit in this labeling. Its melodic and instrumental construction are somewhat out of the box even for Black Metal standards which are per se out of the box. In fact, this kind of effort contributes a lot to Metal music because it raises ideas that are going to be distilled litle by litle by other bands.

Impavida “Antipode” was released on July 12th via Ván Records.

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