DEW-SCENTED – Impact (Remastered)

Only a year had passed since the dynamic Inwards, and Dew-Scented were out there again with another album, Impact. Before the work on the album commenced, Dew-Scented recruited a second lead guitarist in order to gain more power to their music. For that role they selected Hendrik Bache, a guitarist that was involved with a record with the old Thrash / Death band Protector. Today, Bache is Florian Muller’s bandmate in their new group called General Chaos.

When Impact is compared to the previous Dew-Scented albums, it was probably the most violent of them all. Dew-Scented continued the same line of demolishing Thrash / Death, however, this album can be recognized as a sort of a stop sign. Impact, in a metaphorical way, was the beginning of a new era for Dew-Scented, when their tank tracks stopped rolling and an unseen border was forged. It didn’t mean that they stopped playing or creating new albums, however, their musical direction was paved, and afterwards it seemed that there would be no more changes. Impact was a great outcome material-wise, which was supported by a strong cloud of aggressive sound made by the band’s consistent producer Andy Classen. That brand of sound was also set, more or less, for the rest of their way.

While the Inwards album from 2003 was the band’s strongest killer, Impact turned out to be even more aggressive and tharshier than its previous, and it still sticks hard like super glue to a Slayer-ish type of Thrash with a mix Modern Death Metal. There are even some solos exchanges between the two guitarists. Nevertheless, their small innovations didn’t interfere with Dew-Scented’s usual straightforward nature. Impact brought with it a selection of intrusive songs, and some of best are “Acts Of Rage”, “Soul Poison”, “Cities Of The Dead” and “Slaughtervain”. Other tracks on this album charge in a pretty similar setting, such as “New Found Pain”, “Flesh Reborn” and “Destination Hell”. Although good, those are all practically the same.

For the benefit of the listeners, this remastered version of the album by Metal Mind productions provided other cool additions in the image of additional tracking. Dew-Scented inserted “Force Red”, which was not selected for the original Impact release and was set aside; A re-recording of their Ill-Natured classic “Skybound” — a well-done performance for a memorable track; and two fair additional covers: Metallica’s classic tune “Metal Militia” and a Punk tribute for Turbonegro’s “Hobbit Motherfuckers”.

Impact can be looked upon as the career peak of Dew-Scented. With this album they centered themselves on a musical style and a brand of sound. However, even if that is so clear, each release of theirs has something different to give to its listeners. Impact, specifically, was the musical cornerstone for Dew-Scented.

Tracklist

1. Acts Of Rage
2. New Found Pain
3. Destination Hell
4. Soul Poison
5. Cities Of The Dead
6. Down My Neck
7. One By One
8. Agony Designed
9. Slaughtervain
10. Flesh Reborn
11. 18 Hours
12. Force-Fed [The Bleeding Scheme]
13. Skybound (Re-Recorded)
14. Metal Militia (Metallica Cover)
15. Hobbit Motherfuckers (Turbonegro Cover)

Lineup

Leif Jensen – Vocals
Florian Muller – Guitars
Hendrik Bache – Guitars / Bass
Uwe Werning – Drums