Review: Non Est Deus – Impious
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Review by Jeger
Non Est Deus – Impious
Record Label: Noisebringer Records
Year: 2022
Rating: 6/10
Blasphemy is a common theme in Black Metal, and is it ever glorious? Scathing slights against Christianity and Christ himself set to the ever-so-sweet sound of fiendish gutturals, earth-scorching blast-beats and Blackened tremolo riffs? Yes, please… Blasphemy not only sends a clear adversarial message, but it also empowers the blasphemer; the free spirit who lives not in fear of their god. It’s this very spirit of rebellion that Bamberg, Bavaria, Germany’s Non Est Deus try to capture with the project’s third full-length studio LP, “Impious”. That along with a touch of humor. Hope you like polka…
Non Est Deus
Non Est Deus is the side project of multi-instrumentalist, Noise (Kanonenfieber). Its latest release, “Impious”, was unveiled on March 4 through Noisebringer Records, and it sees Noise packing away the warring guns in order to get all anti-religious on everyone. His unapologetic lyrical incursions are set to simple, melodic hooks and pronounced rhythms that ring with anthemic tones in tracks like “Burn It Down” and “Fuck Your God”. Both are designed to hopefully whip you into a church-burning frenzy. And despite the album’s textbook sound, others like “Save Us” and “Flagellation” cast a sharper light upon what Noise is capable of musically as each cut conveys higher levels of energy while delivering more in the intricacies department.
“Impious” is a catchy album, and it’s definitely for mainstream ears, but its beauty lies within its renegade spirit, the soul of the riffs and its rolling melodic current. Outside of that and the humorously titled “Christraping Polka” (a play on Marduk’s celebrated track, “Christraping Black Metal”), we’re talking some pretty conventional, or dare I even say stock Black Metal. I’d say that ultimately, Non Est Deus flashes a fancy yet dull dagger throughout the majority of this release. Blasphemy-based BM is generally crafted with the worst of intentions, yet there’s a level of lethality that’s missing here. You know, the kind that can be found within truly impious classics like, well, “Christraping Black Metal” by Marduk…
There’s a place for blasphemy in my heart, so I will always appreciate the spirit of albums like “Impious”, but the music must back up that spirit. With “Impious”, you can smell the acrid smolder of burning churches in the air. Unfortunately, it’s from somewhere off in the distance arising from a blaze that’s too far away to behold.
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