IMPERMANENCE review - Death metal has never been so beautiful

(Reviewed by Melody Werner)

Impermanence is a 2021 blackened death metal album by Switzerland's Stortregn (Swiss for "downpour", an apt moniker). Released by The Artisan Era, a Nashville label for extreme metal, it marks the band's fifth full-length LP in their fifteen years of existence. I'd never heard of them until I saw a glowing review for Impermanence on Angry Metal Guy (a site I have mixed feelings on, but who can give some fantastic recommendations like High Command, Black Sites, Haken, and Harlott), which piqued my interest. Well, that and the outstanding album art by Paolo Girardi, which is sure to be in the top three album covers of 2021, at least. After listening to the album itself, I'd say that'd also be a fair placement for Impermanence.

Lush is one of the words I'd first think of to describe Impermanence and its instrumentation. Stortregn carves these sprawling, rich soundscapes that you can get lost in. Though you can definitely enjoy listening to tracks such as "Grand Nexion Abyss", "Chaos Eater", "Timeless Splendor", and "Multilayered Chaos"--all certified bangers in their own rights--on their own and they'd still be amazing, the seamless transitions from song to song lead to Impermanence feeling like this spellbinding experience that I'd prefer listening to in full. I know that the word "epic" gets tossed around a lot, particularly in metal, but it's true of Stortregn's fifth. Big thumbs up to Romain Negro (vocals), Johan Smith (guitars), Duran Bathija (guitars), Manuel Barrios (bass), and Samuel Jakubec (drums) for their phenomenal performances across this early AOTY contender.

Impermanence never loses the explosive, diabolical edge I come to metal for, but I must commend them for maintaining such a magical, gorgeous quality to things. Especially in how they will allow some wonderful acoustics to seep into these imaginative compositions and arrangements, something I didn't know I wanted til I heard it. And I love that. I love that this album, for all its brutal death metal vocals, can so boldly knock my socks off as a lifelong metalhead. I'm so fucking glad that we have metal acts willing to try new things, rather than just pulling the same old tricks for the hundred millionth time. I'm so fucking glad that we can have the visceral extreme metal, but with more tender moments too, that feel so earned and so cohesive.

Suffice to say, Impermanence is incredible. If Stortregn's prior work is even half this good, I'll enjoy digging into their back catalogue, for sure. And if they want to follow this up at some point, I am content to wait and see how that turns out. For now, however, I've got to hand Impermanence a well-deserved 10/10. It's so damn good.

Masterpiece

Summary:

Evocative as it is thrilling, Impermanence is a high watermark for extreme metal in 2021.