Alright, this crew is confused. The review pipe violently ejected a Death Metal band called Impurity. These guys spew their wares in Castellan, but are based in the beautiful French city of Orléans. To add insult to injury, the band frequently indulges in flamenco-style excursions with those typical fast-moving rhythms. And they do it in the traditional fashion or in high-end Extreme Metal mode. Now, if that doesn’t pique your interest, I wonder what will.
So, here’s to Impureza, the band boasting one of the funkiest ideas in metal that this crew has found to date. Grab yer hardhats!
Alcázares,1 they called their newest concoction. A storyline full of historical references from a contemptuous yet richly embroidered past. The remnants of which are still starkly visible in Spain’s Southern reaches. A testament to the fact that Oriental culture was far ahead of Southern and Western Europe in the past. That’s an exceedingly difficult theme to choose from. But then, difficult storylines are also one of the trademarks of this French band. To render things more interesting still, here we got yet another act that is not to be rushed, either. Their last album – La Caída De Tonatiuh – aired in 2017 with the Aztec Sun God as its background rumble, again imbued with a lot of flamenco-style incursions.
Some call Impureza the Spanish incarnation of Fleshgod Apocalypse. But I also heard them referenced as a new iteration of Nile. In essence, the former sounds about right, but one cannot deny some influence of the latter, either. You get those overwrought bursts of Melodic Death Metal mixed with wild excursions into tech death proper. Roaringly good Death Metal growls suddenly change into lighter clears, once the metal-laced flamenco attacks suddenly hit the production. The actual killer, however, is that you get a number of acoustic intros, interludes, and outros, and none of them gripe in any way, shape, or form (Veridales or Murallas). And those traditional Spanish vibes inject a progressive aspect into all that metal brutality.
In other words, Alcázares is living proof that traditional and orientally-shaped acoustics can be integrated into metal proper. And that, despite the wildly different time signatures of both styles. That Impureza made this sound easy, totally threw me. Because merging both almost diametrically opposed styles is anything but a simple task. Furthermore, Impureza’s wild metal musings often border on the unhinged. To the point that I felt Francesco Paoli’s ghost roam about the backstage somewhere.
But the straight-in-your-face intensity might also be the record’s real enemy. Said differently, after a while of the relatively lengthy playtime, there’s a real risk of sensory overload. A bit like what happens once you fire up a Fleshgod Apocalypse piece. Alcázares often fires on all pistons at once for way too long. And that might well turn away new fans that aren’t yet vetted in the art of high-strung, vile Death Metal.
Ultimately though, Alcázares was a revelation. Impureza foment metal brutality at any corner of their record to the point of infobesity. Yet, the band mastered the integration of two wildly different musical styles without ending up with two coexisting yet separate soundtracks. Meaning, they successfully merged what – at the outset – makes no sense at all. And that is an impressive feat, leading to astonishing results. A soundscape where the harshest Death Metal fare meets the sensitive and fluttery rhythms of one of Spain’s most revered castanet-ridden folk and dancing styles. And for some reason, all of this works and congeals into a coherent amalgamation of metal ferocity and folk-laden vulnerability. The perfect style to showcase a crucial period in Iberian history, expressed in a whirlwind of sounds and red-hot emotion.
Record Rating: 8/10 | Label: Season of Mist | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 11 July 2025
- Plural from ‘alcázar’, an old Moorish castle. | Check Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alc%C3%A1zar.-↩