Search - Impaled :: Death After Life

Will it never end?

Monsewer Ross Sewage | Oakland, CA | 03/18/2005

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Though I throw myself in front of trains, remove my feeding tube, jump off bridges, or go on rampages in churches, it seems the fates have deemed I cannot die but rather am plagued by the existence of this idiot parade masquerading as a band.



My life is a joke.



First off the cover. Apparently, we hadn't seen the fifty gadjillion covers by other bands featuring hearts on it this year. Yeah... I must've just FORGOT about the Ludicra album cover Mr. McGrath and I were ALSO responsible for! But let's not forget Green Day, Bleeding Thru, or whatever that band is that just put headphones on a heart. Rather... let's forget Impaled.



The band photo is hilarious, and by hilarious, I mean pathetically sad. Here's the scene... three panty-waists and one husky fellow are trying to look menacing in ties. Oh yeah, that was really metal of us. Ties... we're about as scary as a board meeting at Hewlett and Packard.



Now let's get to the meat and bones of this release. And what a skimpy plate of meat it is. We wisely didn't play an intro this time, but rather, programmed one because a computer with no brain can do a better job than us. But the dialogue over it? It's so corny, I just had my first good bowel movement in years. This guy sounds like he announces traffic on the radio. Why is that? Because he does. We hired a traffic announce to be a scary guy. Please, end my suffering now.



Then the music starts. What music? I can hardly tell what's going on here, and I played it! This production is so muddy it reminds me of the band that Swamp Thing started with Man-Thing, with the Heap on a drumset made of human stool. The only thing razor-sharp about these riffs are the razors they make me want to buy to slash my wrists.



The vocals are again indiscernable. We had some story on this album, but it's probably best that it can't be understood because it was easily the stupidest idea since New Coke. Unfortunately, we decided to act like cast members of SNL and put together skits between songs. We come across more like a bad episode of Mad TV. Who taught us to act, Keanu Reeves? At least girls dig him. Us? We got nothing.



All in all, this album is just another reason in a long list of reasons why I shouldn't have been born. I must have done something terrible in a past life to deserve a fate as hideous as being Impaled. Think Mussolini, Sylvestre Mutushka, Ed Gein... One of them must been me.



The one good thing about this album is that you don't have to buy it or listen to it. I, however, did. Pity me."

Production Lacks, But Still Solid

Chris Conlan (BreakingCustom.com) | Iowa | 06/20/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Review by Tyler Wagnon:



If you've been surfing around reading reviews about Impaled's newest gore soaked album, Death After Life, you've probably already come to the assumption that the recording sucks. And indeed it does. The snare drum has no pop whatsoever and feels totally lifeless, while the bass drum is mixed too low and needs quite a bit more warmth. The guitars sound really muffled and dirty as well, with the mix being somewhat f*#*** up. It needs work.



Despite this, it's a pretty good album. Impaled is one of the many, many bands strongly influenced by older Carcass. Essentially, they are a Carcass clone, but they are one of the best of the thousands out there. Anyway, you can expect tons of morbid medical imagery, bile-encrusted guitar work, vomitus vocals and much more. Sometimes the guitars take on a thrashy feel that really works well with the non-stop grinding madness.



Death After Life is a bit different than most gore grind albums in that it is a concept album. The basic story is about medical students doing experiments on coming back from death after life. Not the most original subject matter, but a concept nonetheless. It even has skits complete with dialogue and sound effects to bring the story to the forefront.



Although the recording sucks and really makes the album suffer, the music is what counts and it's another good Impaled album. The concept is a bit of a stretch, but the samples are fun and make for a humorous and engaging listen. It's always nice to hear music with a sense of humor."

Good effort

Antonio Palacios | Perú | 05/21/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Death after life has good things and bad things. There are really good songs on the CD, ie: Dead alive, Gutless and Mondo Medicale (wich include a verse that's much like a self-parody of their old songs) I also have to mention the funny interludes, that make a lot of sense if you know the concept behind the album.

Now, the bad news. Some songs sound much like the Mondo Medicale songs... some tracks doesn't sound like new songs at all. I hate when bands do that... it's like they can't offer us anything fresh, you see? I understand it's difficult to overpass the quality and ¨sucess¨ of Mondo Medicale, but they're quite talented musicans and I know they can do it better next time. Good effort."