:: Domination Through Impurity - Masochist

Domination Through Impurity

When North Carolina based technical death metal outfit Domination Through Impurity released their debut effort ‘Essence Of Brutality’ in 2005, it wasn’t exactly a worldwide sensation, and it certainly didn’t make the band a household name. But for those who did happen to come across the album, it was a fairly impressive effort and one that at least warranted keeping an eye on in terms of a follow up release. But as with most small acts where success is measured on a small scale, Domination Through Impurity was put on the backburner as the members decided to focus on their other projects. For vocalist/bassist/guitarists Joe Payne, the last five years has been spent playing bass with Divine Heresy and Nile, while drummer Jordan Varela has filled the years playing within acts such as Lividity, Shuriken Cadaveric Entwinement, Cesspool Of Vermin and his own solo project Symphony In Acrimony. But after five years between releases, and having earned themselves some recognition from the scene with their various roles in other acts, the pair has once again reunited Domination Through Impurity, and put together their long overdue sophomore release ‘Masochist’. Despite its rather amateur looking cover, ‘Masochist’ is quite simply one hell of a release. Having spent the last five years refining their chops, Domination Through Impurity have easily managed to surpass their debut in every conceivable way, with the level of aggression, the song writing, the production and the technical finesse within the songs from the duo’s own performances coming across as seasoned musicians who know exactly what listeners want to hear.

The secret to the band’s success over numerous others within the technical death metal scene is their ability to lock into a groove, along with their clear sense of melody within the continual onslaught. One of the better examples is the title track ‘Masochist’, where the song alternates between mid-paced groovier sections and all out faster paced blast moments. Payne’s vocals certainly push out enough venom and bile to cater to those who prefer their death metal full of relentless aggression, but there’s small measures of melodic sensibility that filters through alongside the full-on passages that keep the song both ever moving and memorable overall. Of course, the album isn’t without its moments of pure audio violence, with the opening track ‘Interminable Descent’, ‘Becoming One’, ‘Less Than Human’ and ‘Bleeding The Damned’ more than filling the quota in that respect. But dotted in amongst those tracks are songs such as ‘Path To Righteousness’, ‘The Dead Within’ and ‘Patron Saint Of Hate’ and the acoustic instrumental piece ‘The Cruel Hand Of Fate’, all of which give the album enough flow and melody to keep the album interesting and memorable throughout. Success may have eluded Domination Through Impurity around the time of their debut, but that’s when the band were virtual unknowns. With five long years having passed since, and the duo having had some fairly high profile gigs in that time, Domination Through Impurity is sure to attract some attention this time around, with the quality of their sophomore effort ‘Masochist’ ensuring some measure of critical acclaim on its own merits.