Band: Impending Doom
Title: There Will Be Violence
Label: Facedown Records
Release Date: July 20, 2010
Review By: Steve
Track Listing:
1. Hell Breaks Loose
2. There Will Be Violence
3. Orphans
4. Peace Illusion
5. The Great Fear
6. Walking Through Fire
7. Love Has Risen
8. The Son Is Mine
9. Children of Wrath
10. Sweating Blood
I have to admit that I was a little bipolar with There Will Be Violence. At first, I really disliked the album because it seemed too generic and gimmicky. However, after listening to the previous two Impending Doom albums (Nailed. Dead. Risen. and The Serpent Servant) I think this may be some of their best work to date.
So what changed my mind? Well I really like the maturity of Brook’s voice. I liked the death metal growls in Nailed. Dead. Risen. but I am really liking how his voice has evolved over the years. Gone are the deathcore vocals of Nailed. Dead. Risen. and even though I loved that album I think Brook’s voice has matured for the better. In addition to Brook’s vocals, I believe they have all matured as a band getting a little more technical, and the addition of Brandon on drums was a huge improvement over previous albums. You can really feel the drums a lot more on There Will Be Violence. It feels like Brandon is sitting right in my lap hitting the double bass and blast beats. Where as the previous two albums had the slower chunkier guitars and sound, There Will Be Violence has a little bit of everything–fast and heavy to slow and groovy. The album also has a central theme of “the end times.” According to bassist David Sittig, “The theme of the record is simply that the end of times are near, and that you cannot put your faith in humanity, it will always fail. It’s not an opinion, it’s a fact, a statement that in the end there will be violence. We aren’t sugar coating the message, the truth.” The album overall is pretty fast and heavy. The production of this album is top notch, which you would expect when you record at Lambesis Studios.
My favorite track on the album is “The Great Fear.” Vincent Bennett of The Acacia Strain has some guest vocals on this track and he fits in great with Brook’s vocals. This song is by far the best of what Impending Doom has to offer as far as vocals and music. The lyrics are incredible as well fitting in with the theme of the album. “The devil is alive, cause I can feel him breathing. Over the horizon comes hell and my arms wide open as I embrace the apocalypse. This is what you came to know as fear. He’s here, this is the great fear. I don’t care who you are, you’re afraid of death, your terrified by how the worlds going to end, so follow me as I take you to the one where life begins.”
Overall: This is a must have album especially if you are a long time Impending Doom fan. You get everything from fast and brutal to slow and groovy. Impending Doom have evolved into a top-notch metal band. Gone are the deep death metal growls of earlier albums, but I believe they have been replaced by much more mature, intense growls that will please death metal and metal fans alike. But what is not gone and will never be replaced is Impending Doom’s unashamed love for Christ and how they let the listener know how it is without remorse.