Impii Hora

For most that have been paying attention to what has been going on in metal and rock circles in Europe since the turn of the millennium, the name Michael Poulsen has no doubt become synonymous with the highly acclaimed Danish heavy/groove metal outfit Volbeat, which he has been fronting for more than 20 years now. What is perhaps more privileged information exclusive to those with some knowledge of Northern Europe’s rich history as a purveyor of death metal throughout the 90s is that Poulsen originally cut his teeth as the helmsman of a prominent old school death outfit in Dominus that represented a substantial part of the Danish wing of said movement, running in similar circles with the likes of Carcass, Entombed, Grave, among others; and much like Swedish counterparts Unleashed, were an early purveyor of marrying the style to Viking themes before it was popularized by Amon Amarth. Indeed, the band Volbeat’s very name was taken from Dominous’ stylistically transitional 1997 studio album, leading one to wonder if maybe this more mainline metal personality was harboring a desire to turn back the clock to a darker and simpler time.

Asinhell, a project born out of Poulsen’s songwriting efforts for Volbeat’s 2021 LP Servant Of The Mind, could be likened to a newly formed continuation of what Dominus was during its more stylistically conservative run in the early to mid-1990s. Having drawn pretty blatantly from the same well of ideas that formed the bulk of the brutal yet more simplified side of the Swedish and Florida death metal scenes via the earliest and most thrashing offerings of Death, Entombed, Obituary and Unleashed; the resulting debut opus dubbed Impii Hora (Latin for “Ungodly Hour”) has all the makings of a compelling and utterly ferocious throwback. Having tapped the engineering and session bass handiwork of fellow Danish old school extreme metal icon turned producer Jacob Hansen, every crevice of this album is oozing with early 90s dankness and fury. Likewise, the thunderous kit work of Blood Eagle drummer Morten Toft Hansen and the occasional shred-happy solos provided by guest guitarist Flemming Lund of The Arcane Order meld seamlessly with Poulsen’s gritty and highly infectious riffs. Codifying this fiendish reminiscence of the old ways of sonic death and decay is former Morgoth vocalist Marc Grewe, who still brings that signature low-end grunt with a forceful edge like his 1991 incarnation had been brought 32 years forward in time.

As a well-rounded book of brutality told in 10 harrowing chapters, this is an album that relies on adherence to tradition and a consistent barrage of distinctive riffs to seal the deal. There is a latent sense of melodic consonance that lingers among several entries here that undoubtedly speaks to a strong blend of death ‘n’ roll sensibilities and late 80s thrash influences, with entries like the fast-thrashing opener “Fall Of The Loyal Warrior” and the swampy speeder “Desert Of Doom” that occasionally resembling a missing link between Entombed’s Clandestine and Wolverine Blues, though also drawing pretty heavily from Grave’s more dissonant early entries. Other entries like “Island Of Dead Men” cut things a little closer to the ultra-heavy, down-tuned brand of brutality one might expect from Cannibal Corpse, while the riff happy extravagance of “Pyromantic Scryer” and the flashy “The Ultimate Sin” flirt a bit with the transitional early 90s stylings of Death, with Lund’s rich harmonic solo contribution to the latter sounding about as gripping as those found on Spiritual Healing and Human. But what truly brings home the old school glory like it’s back in style is the closing barrage of the title anthem “Impii Hora”, which covers just about every base on the old school playing field, and is even chased by a less than subtle nod to Napalm Death with a closing 5-second addendum “Foj For Helvede”.

When it comes to modern nods to the good old days, while bands like Rude, Skeletal Remains and Gruesome have definitely been apt to the task of reminding us why the old guard’s approach was so captivating, there is something about the crop that was originally there rediscovering the old art that just comes with an added level of gravitas. Particularly when it comes to recapturing the multifaceted blend of melodic melancholy, dank nastiness, and rustic thrash-inspired riffing that came to typify most of the early proponents of the Swedish sound, Michael Poulsen and his impressive roster of collaborators have definitely brought one of the most compelling entries into the fray within recent years. Though Asinhell is a project that was basically born out of a spontaneous fit of songwriting while penning a very different album for an established and highly in-demand band, it’s definitely one that will have a lot of staying power if the mastermind behind it continues to feel thusly inspired. Impii Hora is the sort of compact and well-constructed albums that just about any death metal fan can sink their teeth into, though those with a limited tolerance for all the parasites and dark spiritual forces that come with a diet of rotting flesh and occult-themes are encouraged to listen with care.

Originally written for Sonic Perspectives (www.sonicperspectives.com)

I remember back in 1994 when I was completely blown away by a debut album called "View To The Dim“ by a Danish band called Dominus. That was brutal and super fucking heavy death metal with a voice quite similar to Glen Benton (Deicide) or (if somebody still remembers this so much underrated Swedish band) to Wojtek Lisicki (Lucifericon).
After the long break of 23 years the main guy behind Dominus now decided to record a new death metal album. Some things have changed since he is no longer the vocalist but left this role to Marc Grewe (I guess it's his fourth album in 2023 so far…) and the drummer is Morten Toft Hansen from Raunchy. And to let the cat out of the bag, if you haven't guessed it (or read in the news) already, the main guy behind Asinhell is none other than Michael Poulsen from Volbeat.

Asinhell has almost nothing to do with his main band since it is pure old school death metal worship. Old heroes like Autopsy, Death, Bolt Thrower get a lot of tribute paid on Imperii Horaand there is nothing that sounds “modern” or “nu” on here. But let's go and examine some songs shall we? A song like 'The Ultimate Sin' is a punching death metal feast with a lot of hellish groove including a great pummeling drum sound with some ass-kicking double bass and a great Chuck Schuldiner memorial solo. 'Wolfpack Laws' starts with some riffs and drums that might sound like when you make some popcorn at home, a little bit hectic but after that another furious blast beat hits you straight in the face. That track is another pretty catchy one with some doom-laden riffs in the middle-part that remind me here and there of some Volbeat tunes. The title track however is mostly kept in mid-tempo and captivates the listener by the brutal vocals and the gripping beat. This is a real cool banger and probably the slowest song on the album. Opposite to this is 'Trophies'. This one is the most brutal song (maybe also lyrically) with really harsh drumming and some massive guitar riffing. And again the vocals underline the brutality of the music and as a matter of fact over all 10 songs Marc Grewe thrones with his slight psychotic death metal screams. The only “song” I don't quite get is the last one 'Føj For Helvede' which just lasts a few seconds and has some spoken words from a small child.

So what else can be said about Imperii Hora? Well, I’m going to assume that Michael Poulsen didn't found the band to make any money but just for fun and because he is a death metal maniac. You can find passion for extreme music in every aspect of the album as a matter of fact. Starting with the cover and logo up to the songs and the production which has become really good. At first I thought that the drums would be a little bit too overproduced but after listening several times to it, I changed my opinion – they kick goddamn ass! I guess that the “regular” Volbeat fans won't have too much fun with this release because it is pure fucking death metal without any compromise. But other metalheads who also liked Dominus and are into old school death metal should listen to this one, together with the new Cannibal Corpse two highlights in death metal this summer and this year!

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Originally written for metalbite.com

Much to my dismay, metal is a genre that I feel relies more and more on “die-hardism” as the years go by. But that’s the natural and mandatory law when it comes to music, as it wouldn’t be that much exciting and thrilling if it didn’t have the “evolution” factor attached to it. Metallica’s Lars Ulrich said it himself when he responded to the negative (in my point of view, negatively exaggerated) bash that “Load” received back in 1995: “The minute you stop exploring, sit around and f****** die”. That doesn’t apply only to music, but to life itself.

That, however, doesn’t mean that we must have no room to accommodate our past musical sweethearts. That’s pretty much the premise in which Asinhell, founded by Volbeat’s mastermind Michael Poulsen, is based upon. Anyone who knows him knows that it was with his defying musical work in Volbeat that fame and worldwide recognition came to knock at his door. For that reason, fans tend to forget that Michael’s musicianship is rooted in death metal, thanks to the four albums he released with Dominus, one of which bears the title that gave Volbeat its name.

With the help of German vocalist Marc Grewe (known for his work with Insidious Disease, Despair, Deimos’ Dawn and a lot of other bands) and drummer Morten Toft Hansen (Blood Eagle, Raunchy), Poulsen was able to awaken a beast that had been dormant for more than twenty years, unbeknownst to the most die-hard metalhead. “Impii Hora”, latin for “Ungodly Hour”, could easily be classified as the elder, more muscular brother of Volbeat’s latest album, 2021’s Servant of the Mind, a record that flirts with dark lyrics and powerful death metal rooted progressions at some point (“The Sacred Stones” and the intro to “Becoming” stand as fine examples).

With that being said, it’s no surprise that our attention will be placed upon Michael Poulsen’s guitar work (contrary to popular belief, he’s not behind the mic this time around), especially when he brings the first chords of “Fall of the Loyal Warrior” to the table. But the ears must not rule out Grewe’s vocal ability, and while I must admit the highs sound sometimes too cringy for my personal tastes (that “warrior!” he places emphasis on during the aforementioned track sounds like he’s being painfully tortured), his vocal delivery on more fast-paced (and sometimes anthemic) tracks like “Island of Dead Men”, “The Ultimate Sin” or “Wolfpack Laws” is not a hard case of pleasing ears.

Speaking of “Island of Dead Men”, “The Ultimate Sin” and “Wolfpack Laws”, those three tracks, together with “Pyromantic Scryer” add the explosiveness that comes to be the albums biggest asset. The guitars are in consonance with the vocals almost throughout the entire 38 minutes, but on those four cuts, they blend perfectly and create a symbiosis that puts them on a pedestal above the other six tracks.

The other positive aspect worth mentioning is the lyrics. In a time where death metal lyricism is moving towards a more contemporary (and sometimes personal) analysis of the world around us, “Impii Hora” claims back the gruesome nature of death metal’s old poetry. Whether it is pointing the finger at some religious costumes and vices on “Inner Sancticide”:

“Inner sancticide, holy ghosts crucified, dark saints conspire
Inner sancticide, holy ghosts crucified, chant godless choir
Inner sancticide, holy ghosts crucified, a faith on the pyre

Satanic rogation, words like spears
Sacrilegious bliss, religion is fear
Kill the old saints now, the lot you spurn
A Christian past, a blasphemous turn”

Or even the ancient tribal practice of anthropophagy explained in “Island of Dead Men”:

“It makes you eat your final friend
Island of dead man
Conversion man to animal
Nourishment by death”

It can’t be denied that the poetical aspect on this record takes a turn for the old school. It takes one back to the very early days of death metal as a genre, when Death’s Chuck Schuldiner was telling horrid stories of gore and horror on “Scream Bloody Gore” and “Leprosy”.

To sum it up, allow me to recall what I stated earlier: ““The minute you stop exploring, sit around and f****** die”. That doesn’t apply only to music, but to life itself. That, however, doesn’t mean that we must have no room to accommodate our past musical sweethearts.”. “Impii Hora” is not necessarily a work of pushing boundaries and risking it all for the sake of creativity – the record is actually a very well-crafted attempt at old school death metal.

Nonetheless, it is certainly Michael Poulsen’s way to silence those critics that say his death metal days are long gone, or that Volbeat is a sell-out attempt at metal just because it blends metal with country, rockabilly and themes of mundane life. “Impii Hora” is, as the title implies, a love letter to past sweethearts, but it is also a call back to the roots. A well-taught lesson in one thing that must guide us through life: We must not forget where we came from. That’s the essence of Asinhell and, consequently, the foundation in which “Impii Hora” lies.