Tuesday 22 December 2015

Implore - "Depopulation" (Album Review)

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 04/09/2015
Label: Pelagic Records


“Depopulation” works particularly well due to the variety of tempos employed throughout the record. Implore never let up on the volume and distortion front, but the transitions between pummelling blastbeats and mid-paced grooves really work well.  There are enough interesting touches here to make Implore stand out from their peers without compromising on aggression and attack. This is a strong debut that hints at an interesting future ahead.


“Depopulation” CD//DD//LP track listing:  

1). Epicyte/Parasite
2). Sentenced
3). Thousand Generations
4). Homo-Consumens
5). Hegelian Dialectic
6). Cadaves on Parade
7). Hoax
8). Anthropocentric Selfishness
9). Iscariote
10). Neo Luddite
11). Ruthless Conspiracy
12). Bohemian Grove
13). Intrincated Scapegoat
14). Inexorable Malignancy

The Review:

Implore certainly don’t mess around on their debut full-length. The Hamburg-based trio furiously blaze through 14 tracks in half an hour on “Depopulation”.

The band deal in a raging yet compelling blend of crust and grind with a death metal edge. Implore take the filthy, buzzing guitar tone of Trap Them and Black Breath and meld this to the frantic velocity of the likes of Nasum. There are also occasional touches of anthemic melody reminiscent of At The Gates’Slaughter of the Soul, particularly on “Anthropocentric Selfishness”.

Depopulation” works particularly well due to the variety of tempos employed throughout the record. Implore never let up on the volume and distortion front, but the transitions between pummelling blastbeats and mid-paced grooves really work well. Opener “Epicyte Parasite” is a good example of this, building up the riffs and intensity for a couple of minutes before fully letting rip with a glorious howl. Instrumentals “Hegelian Dialectic” and “Ruthless Conspiracy” also add a further dimension. Both deliver crushing, sludgy riffs offering respite from the velocity elsewhere but no escape from the brutality.

Pelagic Records, run by Robin Staps of post-metal collective The Ocean, initially seems like an odd home for Implore. After a few listens to “Depopulation” it all seems to make sense though. There are enough interesting touches here to make Implore stand out from their peers without compromising on aggression and attack. This is a strong debut that hints at an interesting future ahead for Implore.  

“Depopulation” is available here


FFO: Black Breath, Trap Them, The Secret, Rotten Sound


Band info: facebook | bandcamp