Might be Danish but feels bloody hell Teutonic. The havoc that came to be in the mid-80s in German Thrash Hydra grew another head, among its many, in the Aarhus residents of IMPALERS. Apparently, these guys have been at it for a decade, which is quite respectable. Already with two albums out and two EPs, with this one right here as the second, IMPALERS are slowly getting a name for themselves. But as you know, there are a lot of fish in the sea, and the European scene is loaded. Anyhow, "Styx Demon: The Master of Death", via Evil Eye Records, is a sign of life, checking in, showing that there is something wild in the works and you are fortunate enough to have a fast bite.

With four songs, including two covers, IMPALERS showcased the true meaning of energy and 80s Metal devotion, as if the 80s period was actually a cult. The original material is slicing with ferocious speeds, hoarse vocals, almost tending the features of late 80s Death Metal, bombastic lead guitar devastation that shreds everything in its path and crushing riffs that are pure class. IMPALERS strike hard as mixture of influences, what sounded to me like early KREATOR, TOXIC HOLOCAUST and SODOM. They aren't leaving anything behind, attacking and destroying at will.

"Styx Demon" is massive, crushing Thrash Metal and one of the best examples of how it should be done nowadays. Not turning into groove or modernizing the songwriting, just a plain hard to to core attack with blazing soloing that nearly thrown me off the chair. "Megalodon" is a harsh measure of the band's crude Death Metal exploration, a bit of a filler, an addition of an opener to the EP other than remaining with three tracks. Now for the covers. In "Prowler" the band exploded in their Heavy Metal addiction and for IRON MAIDEN, maintaining even the Wah Wah effect on the lead guitar, which has been one of the song's markers since forever. Less passion on the vocals in comparison to the original, yet still well played. The rather catchy Punkster "Death Comes Ripping", somewhere in time created by MISFITS, at times sounded with a much more vigor than the origin, felt tight with sharp edges.

An EP is always nice, it hints enough for you to sit down and wait for a full length to come out, the question is when? IMPALERS left a quite good mark and something good to expect.