ANGELCORPSE — The Inexorable (review)

ANGELCORPSE — The Inexorable album cover Album · 1999 · Death Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
UMUR
"The Inexorable" is the 3rd full-length studio album by US death metal act Angelcorpse. The album was released through Osmose Productions in September 1999. It´s the successor to "Exterminate" from 1998 and it was the last album in the three-album run in the band´s first active period from their inception in 1995 to their split-up in 1999. The split-up came while on tour with Immortal, Satyricon, and Krisiun, while supporting "The Inexorable". Lead vocalist Pete Helmkamp left Angelcorpse during the tour after a tour van accident, where he was hurt and an incident where his girlfriend was stabbed. So it was not internal turmoil but outside circumstances which meant the end of the band´s original run. The remaining members of Angelcorpse briefly continued without him, but the band soon folded.

Stylistically the 8 tracks on the 34:29 minutes long album continue the brutal and aggressive blackened death metal style of "Exterminate (1998)". The blackened part of the band´s sound is only due to the caustic raspy vocals of Helmkamp, because the instrumental part of the music is fast-paced old school death metal. Sometimes sounding like a faster-paced and ferocious take on artists like Slayer and Dark Angel (the 1986 version of both acts), but most of the time sounding like a more direct, angry, and blasphemous take on early Morbid Angel. The music is incredibly potent and there´s a 100% guarantee of being sonically bludgeoned from listening to "The Inexorable". It´s seldom I´ve hard anything delivered with this kind of determined hateful passion and conviction.

In terms of development since "Exterminate (1998)", there´s been almost none, and the two albums can be considered sibling albums, featuring similar sounding productions (powerful, raw, and perfectly suiting the material), similar sounding material, and the same high quality musicianship. There have been two lineup changes since the predecessor as guitarist Bill Taylor and drummer John Longstreth have left. The former hasn´t been replaced, so Gene Palubicki handles all guitars on the album. The latter has been replaced by Tony Laureano, making the lineup who recorded the album a three-piece.

Like its predecessor "The Inexorable" is an album which wins on attitude and delivery more than it wins on the actual compositions. Not that the material on the album isn´t well written and effective, but it´s ultimately a bit one-dimensional in style, and the tracks are a bit hard to tell apart, even after many listens. But if the premise is to listen to the most fast-paced, blasphemous, and aggressive old school death metal you can get your hands on, then "The Inexorable" more than applies. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Hin helga kvöl Atmospheric Sludge Metal
SÓLSTAFIR
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Cycles of Suffering Black Metal
BURIAL OATH
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Suns of Perdition - Chapter IV: To Shadow Zion Black Metal
PANZERFAUST
Buy this album from MMA partners
Facilis Descensus Averno Death Metal
SAEVUS FINIS
Buy this album from MMA partners
Merciless Crossover Thrash
BODY COUNT
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

DAWN OF REVENGE - Sanctuary [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Farewell [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Curtain of Death - [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Vengeance [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - I Need You [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed