Time Signature Murderer...

Genre: deathcore

A Christian deathcore act, Impending Doom happens to fall into a category the generally does not appeal to me. It is not that I do not like deathcore per se (I do like a couple of deathcore acts), but it just so happens that most of the bands whose music is categorized as deathcore tends to not appeal to me. Unfortunately (for me, ultimately), Impending Doom's Baptized in Filth did not make it into the admittedly very small group of deathcore releases that rock my world.

There is definitely some good stuff on the album and even I can tell that there is a lot of stuff that definitely will appeal to fans of deathcore and more generally of metalcore. The riffs evolve around tight grooves, and there are bursts of melody every now and then, while the obligatory metalcore breakdown also rears its head. The vocals are harsh and, overall, the music is characterized by a sense of wrath that rivals even that of the Old Testament version of the Christian God. There is nothing wrong with the musicianship as such, and one can only admire the tightness that characterizes the band, and their flair for inserting little bursts of various things to spice up and add some color to their music is also a quite positive feature of Baptized in Filth.

So, looking objectively at the music – insofar as that is even possible – there is nothing as such wrong with this album, and I think that metalcore fans, while probably agreeing that it is not the most innovative deathcore release around, will evaluate it very positively. To my ears, this release tends to become a bit monotonous in the repetition of riff upon riff following the same style of groove, and, if you feel like me, you will probably benefit from listening to the album a couple of songs at the time.

A fairly typical deathcore album to my ears, Baptized in Filth is a solid effort and features many of the elements that define that genre. As it happens, they do not appeal to me, but if you are into that style of music, do not hesitate to give the album a listen yourself – I bet you will like it.

(review originally posted at seaoftranquility.org)