IMPALER – Nightmare Attack

Although Japan holds some artistic musicians in Metal, its Thrash Metal scene isn’t as dominant as it is in Europe or in the USA. The means to develop an old school scene were under the influence of some of the gods of Thrash from both of those two regions mentioned. In the case of Impaler, their style is a mixture of the extremes of both scenes, especially where Speed Metal is involved, and with additional elements of Hardcore / Punk. With these weapons, the band created its debut, Nightmare Attack, and with the highway out of Kagawa open, Impaler sped their way into recognition full throttle.

Impaler shows their anger with some strong moments of 80s Thrash insanity in the vein of early Slayer, Dark Angel, early Kreator, Hirax, and early Razor. Violent tracks as “Nightmare Attack”, the instrumental opener “AxPx”, “Slave Of Master”, and “Impaler” are the high point of what this destructive trio has to offer. Melody is not what you would find in their material, but there are the demonic hints of the early Slayer outputs that were pretty cool and fulfilled their horrific roles.

This trio, however, should stop and regroup once again if they think their material is close to a Thrasher’s glory. Even with the admirable Japanese sense of accuracy and the attention to details, this is still Thrash Metal and if Hardcore is involved as well, it can be an all out mess. Nightmare Attack is truly an attack, but what about some diversity and less duplication of riffs? What about additional levels of creativity? What about some stronger vocal lines without some rooster-like shrieks? Sadly those questions won’t be answered here, and only time will tell if Impaler will take the constructive criticism the right way in order to better themselves. There is a talent within this band, yet this album is far from impressive.

To summarize, it’s good to know there is a growing Thrash movement in Japan — a land where music gets a lot of attention and Metal is no stranger. You probably know more than a couple of classic Metal groups that have been around for some time. Impaler has it in them to be one of best Thrash / Crossover bands coming from this country, but they need to work on elevating their game to get out of the throes of mediocrity.

Tracklist

1. AxPx
2. Nightmare Attack
3. I’m Alive
4. Dozaemon
5. Total Dementia
6. Slave Of Master
7. Thrash Genocide
8. Impaler
9. Eternal Hatred
10. Ash
11. Junk Brain

Lineup

Kill-Take (Kazuhiko Takeda) – Vocals, Guitars
Fxxk Futa – Vocals, Bass
Deathdou (Teruki Ishikawa) – Drums