Implore -- Depopulation (review)

Artist: Implore
Album: Depopulation
Genre: blackened deathgrind
Year: 2015
Label: Pelagic Records

I am writing this review in anticipation of the Friday release of the band's sophomore album.

Implore are a relatively new trio from Germany, yet they sound as if they are veterans of the European metal scene.  The band's sound is a seamless mixture of crusty grindcore and HM-2 buzzsaw death metal (a la Dismember) with a blackened overtone.
The band rips through fourteen tracks in under thirty minutes like any good grindcore band would, but they manage to pack the record with diverse arrangements.  From short bursts like "Cadavers On Parade" to more drawn out numbers like "Hegelian Dialectic," Implore manage to weave together an aggressive masterpiece that not only pummels the listener but also provides more crushing sections.  "Ruthless Conspiracy" and the aforementioned "Hegelian Dialectic" both showcase the band's ability to slow down the tempo without losing steam.
Depopulation manages to stand as a single body of work as opposed to fourteen individual parts thrown together thoughtlessly.  Each song bleeds into the next by means of brief feedback interludes; therefore, the flow of the album is never broken by silence or a (often tasteless) track fade-out.  Samples are also used throughout the album, but the band does not use them as a crutch to spice up an otherwise boring album.  Rather, brief samples are woven into the compositions as a means of enhancing the dark atmosphere already conjured by the guitars.
Implore does not just ravage the listener with wave after wave of blast beats and riffs.  They also tastefully weave crushing breakdowns into their compositions.  Tracks such as "Sentenced" and "Bohemian Grove" prove to be excellent headbangers amongst the grinding chaos.  The album closer, "Inexorable Malignancy," contains one of the greatest breakdowns I have ever heard (and I've listened to a lot of slam...), and the band top it off with a powerful lead that I feel punctuates the album perfectly.
This is easily one of the best albums of 2015, and it's exciting to see that it is only Implore's first full-length.  Be sure to give this record a spin; you can stream it on YouTube here.


Rating: 4 / 5
Top Tracks:
Inexorable Malignancy
Epicyte / Parasite
Sentenced
Bohemian Grove