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Sacrilegious Impalement have been killing it since they first formed under the freezing winds of the north (you know, Finland), but it's been a while since we've had new material from them. That might explain why we're getting a reissue of their 2011 sophomore album II – Exalted Spectres from Satanath Records, complete with an improved booklet. If you aren't in the know, the band is all about hateful, ominous Black Metal that's fast and aggressive while injecting some Swedish melodic sensibilities akin to Dissection and Watain. This is all given gravitas by Hellwind Inferion's commanding, Behemoth-esque bellows that fit the band like nails through Christ's wrists and a production that's crystal clear and as sharp as said nails. Highlights include the ominous "The Woods in a Solitary Soul" with its building tension and dark atmosphere, "At the Altar Afore Eternity (Enter Godhood)" with its killer guitar work, and the Finnish-sung "Aletheia" which rises and falls like waves on a stormy sea before swallowing you in darkness as it kills the remaining light that could have once saved you. Overall, this is as fine a blast of Black Metal that balances melody with ferocity as it was a decade ago, and if you somehow missed the band before, now is as good a time as any to fix that.

Additional Information

- 2021 reissue on Satanath Records reviewed.