Are you ready for some Black Metal hailing from the Scandinavian region?  Then prepare yourself for a brand-new release from SACRILEGIOUS IMPALEMENT!  This four-man band from Lahti, Finland has been in existence for about 17 years, their inception dating back to 2006.  After they released a demo and a couple of EPs in their early years, they finally came out with their debut album "Cultus Nex" in 2009, three years into their Extreme Metal career.  This was followed by two more full-length releases: "II - Exalted Spectres" in 2011 and "III - Lux Infera" another two years later in 2013.  Afterwards, SACRILEGIOUS IMPALEMENT stayed inactive with new releases for a lengthy period of time.  Other than a compilation album titled "First Three Nails" in 2015, the Black Metal band remained mostly silent on new work.  Finally, after a painful 10-year wait, they have come back from the dead with their fourth album "IV - Infinite Victor."  It was released about two months ago on May 12th through Woodcut Records, an underground record label from SACRILEGIOUS IMPALEMENT's own homeland.  A 50 ½-minute Black Metal album consisting of 11 well-made tracks?  Yes, please!

Before I talk about some of the amazing songs from "IV - Infinite Victor," I want to take note of the album's overall sound.  While it is, in fact, a Black Metal album overall, there are influences from other subgenres of Extreme Metal.  There are plenty of blast beats from the drummer-who is unknown for now-which is largely influential in Black metal and Death metal.  The guitar riffs from Von Bastard emit a shredding style in many moments on the album, giving us a Thrash Metal vibe, but there are also times when they're slower and heavier.  This will likely please the ears of Groove Metal connoisseurs.  As for Wrathprayer's throaty vocals, they sound more like a raspy growl than a haunting shriek, adding to the Death Metal influences.  When all of this is taken into consideration, I feel it is safe to say that "IV - Infinite Victor" is a melting pot of Extreme Metal.

As for the album's tracks, "Reign in Hell" is the first in line, and it's also an instrumental track.  While instrumental tracks sometimes have acoustic instruments, synthesized sounds, and/or audio samples, "Reign in Hell" has none of these. It only consists of the Black Metal instruments that the members of SACRILEGIOUS IMPALEMENT use so masterfully.  Just the mere title of the opening track reminds fans that this band is still as Satanic as they were since before their decade-long hiatus.  The ending of "Reign in Hell" dives straight into the beginning of the second track "Storming Death."  This is where we start to hear the combination of Black, Death, and Thrash Metal.  It is almost three minutes long-about a minute and a half longer than the previous instrumental track-but audibly much more intense and brutal in tone.  While the next songs "Infinite Conqueror" and "Coronation of Death" were also enjoyable and significantly lengthier, the fifth track was my favorite of the entire album.  Titled "Wolves Cry for a Final Battle," the song opens with the sound of a wolf pack howling and crying (imaginably on the night of a full moon), which I found slightly chilling in a lovely way.  Coupled with the audio of active wolves is an even lovelier-sounding guitar solo from Von Bastard.  The band really comes together on this song to evoke a desolate feeling of death and destruction-something else that SACRILEGIOUS IMPALEMENT has become well-known for, along with their Satanic beliefs.  The song comes to a close with another guitar solo, which is also well-played but not too different from the opening solo.  After another few tracks ranging from 4 ½ to 7 minutes in duration, we receive another instrumental piece called "Last Calm of Sentient Flame" from the Finnish Black Metal group.  It is also a minute and a half long like its earlier cousin "Reign in Hell" but with a starkly different sound.  "Last Calm of Sentient Flame" also begins with an audio sample-this time, of a quietly crackling flame-and leads into an acoustic guitar being played.  This unexpected change in guitar styles eventually progresses into an eruption of more Black Metal from "Winds Howl for Death the Creator."  Running for a staggering 9 minutes and 11 seconds, it is the longest song on "IV - Infinite Victor."  However, if you can patiently listen to the lengthy track, it is well worth the listen.  The song has a good balance of fast, intense moments from the Black/Death/Thrash Metal mixture and slower, heavier periods influenced by Groove Metal.  It is good for Black Metal bands to have breaks from their fast-paced moments, and SACRILEGIOUS IMPALEMENT makes good use of them on "Winds Howl for Death the Creator," which arguably puts the song on par with "Wolves Cry for a Final Battle."

Scandinavian Black Metal continues to construct, destroy, and rebuild the boundaries of Extreme Metal.  SACRILEGIOUS IMPALEMENT may have done the same with their new album, not just for Black Metal but also for their own selves.  They have set the bar higher by taking their Black Metal sound and taking pages from Thrash, Death, and even Groove Metal.  Some bands may be hesitant to try such experimentation, but not this one, and I am glad they didn't hesitate.  If you're a fan of Black Metal from any of the Scandinavian countries or just SACRILEGIOUS IMPALEMENT specifically, get this album ASAP.  It will not disappoint your fetish for underground Metal.