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Infernäl Mäjesty: None shall defy
11/06/10 || Daemonomania
Nothing quite like discovering a great album from back in the day. After reading about a million reviews and finding it available for trade, I happily acquired “None shall defy.” Emotions ran high. Would this be the original album that first combined death and thrash, the forerunner to “Altars of madness”, the coolest collection of hitz since Milli Vanilli once captured America’s hearts? The short answer is no. The long answer is this review.
Since GD is known as the land of charity and good wishes, let’s first praise the qualities possessed by IM, shall we? First of all the guitarists lay it the fuck down on the regular. Riffery induces thrashing, headbanging, child-touching madness on gems like “Overlord” and “Anthology of death”. Solos are nothing to wipe yer meat on either. Congrats to these two Canucks for their excellent work. The guitars are assisted by a beautifully dry production job that never sacrifices an ounce of atmosphere. Bonus points for the lyrics, which are actually more than half competent and deal with such original topics as Jack the Ripper, Satan, zombies, and killing. The overhyped reviews stating these guys were on the bloody path to the dark continent of death metal were partially correct.
Yep, guitars are good. Production is classic. Lyrics are evool. So where, oh where, does Internal Cumshottery go wrong? You guessed it – vocals. Saying this dude is all over the place would be an understatement among understatements. Some tracks feature that awful distorted vocal effect so common in early grind. They’re actually preferable when judged against drummer Rick Nemes’ weak attempts at snarling and “singing” sans distortion. The man frequently sounds like he’s running out of breath as he delivers the final few blasphemous words at the end of a verse. Why is so much old-school thrash ruined by sub-par frontmen? One can only imagine the glory bestowed upon “None shall defy” had they recruited raspy David Vincent, or even LispMaster Martin Walkyier. Given the sheer number of lyrics he’d actually be a better choice. Sadly not to be. And you can’t hear the bass most of the time, but that sentence could come standard in every GD review. Then there’s the undeniable fact that they’re Canadian. Regrettable indeed.
Infernäl Mäjesty certainly had the chops to be a great band, but a few aspects held them back. No huge surprise that they’re not mentioned in the same breath as other similar bands looking in a more brutal direction in the late 80’s. Additional note: Nice cover art, gang. I think you fight that guy at the end of the first Zelda game. Right after Gannon, maybe.
- Information
- Released: 1987
- Label: Roadracer Records
- Website: www.infernalmajesty.com
- Band
- Chris Bailey: vocals, but then again perhaps not
- Kenny “Kids in the” Hallman: guitars
- Steve Terror: guitars
- Psycopath: bass
- Rick Nemes: drums and vocals for real
- Tracklist
- 01. Overlord
- 02. R.I.P.
- 03. Night of the Living Dead
- 04. S.O.S.
- 05. None Shall Defy
- 06. Skeletons in the Closet
- 07. Anthology of Death
- 08. Path of the Psycho
