Formed in 2012, Nashville's ACT OF IMPALEMENT steadily sharpened their sound over a handful of demos and EPs, culminating in the 2018 debut album, Perdition Cult. Always a power-trio, ACT OF IMPALEMENT's sound has never been easy to categorize; galloping, oft-doomy death metal and blackened crust are always at the fore, but Perdition Cult showed ever more sides to the band, including moshable thrash and blown-out sludge. This relative variety should've proved a boon, but ACT OF IMPALEMENT went on a recording hiatus thereafter. Work began on ACT OF IMPALEMENT's second album in February 2020, when all instruments were recorded; vocals were then done in March 2021, with everything recorded & mixed by Yautja's Shibby Poole. The wait was definitely worth it, for Infernal Ordnance is a monstrous work, with ACT OF IMPALEMENT at their gutsfucking and most focused best. Eschewing some of the variety of its full-length predecessor, ACT OF IMPALEMENT's second album surges forward with more songwriting finesse; every riff is given maximal room to inflict damage, every segment carried forward to its conclusion, and every transition seamless. That the power-trio can still show traces of Cianide, Bolt Thrower, Prophecy of Doom, and even Archgoat - often, all in the same song - and make it meld together consistently and compellingly is no small feat. Add to that their characteristically GUTTED guitar & bass tone and Infernal Ordnance verily becomes its namesake. Perhaps best yet, the album doesn't overstay its welcome: ACT OF IMPALEMENT get in and slaughter in a mere 29 minutes. With world-eating mastering courtesy of Will Killingsworth at Dead Air Studios and stark cover by Diablo Macabre, ACT OF IMPALEMENT have undeniably delivered their best record yet in Infernal Ordnance.
