I’ve been gravitating towards more war metal and war metal-leaning stuff this year than any other year so far. 2025 has, to put it bluntly, fucking sucked for me and while I’m actively working towards improving my situation, I’ve searched for music to fill that anger. It’s been a very successful quest, and I keep finding new gems to become a vital part of my rotation as a result. Today’s act is one such example: Tennessee based death metal juggernaut Act of Impalement. The prior album Infernal Ordinance was decent when I listened, but it lacked a certain “umph” to keep me coming back. Profane Altar not only doesn’t share this problem, it completely eclipses the former entirely and leaves me wanting more.
Profane Altar is a violent sounding record. Right off the bat with no unnecessary intro “Apparition” kicks off with a menacing riff that’s really a nearly three minute buildup into the explosion of vitriol that follows suit. Act of Impalement’s approach to death doom is much more along the lines of the Incantation style than it is a band like Hooded Menace or Disembowelment, for example. This on its own piques my interest, but it’s the details that pop up when you get into the songs that get me going. “Piercing the Heavens” adds in some Archgoat-isms while proceeding to blast your face off, and closing title track adds in a neck-snapping, nut-swinging Autopsy groove that makes me want to run through it all again. Solos are few and far between, and rather short when they appear, but they get their point across before continuing to play massive riffs over more massive riffs. A fat-bottomed bass presence will always win me over, and this is made most evident on “Sanguine Rites,” delivering one of the better bass-heavy performances I’ve listened to this year.
There’s no denying I like a lot of flashy bits in my death metal, but I always appreciate a band whose sole purpose is to riff your face off while being infectious enough to immediately re-spin upon completion, and that’s exactly what Act of Impalement have brought on Profane Altar. It might have taken me a long while to finally listen to this record, but I’m so thankful I did. I will absolutely be coming back to this more and more throughout the year, and you’re doing yourself a disservice if you skip it.
