Band Review: IMPETIGO by Devin Joseph Meaney

Band: IMPETIGO

Location: Bloomington, Illinois
Country of origin: USA

Genre: Death metal, grindcore, goregrind

This is not my first IMPETIGO review, but as I no longer use my old blog, I figured that now was the time to mention them once again. I have not listened to IMPETIGO in quite some time, but today I was feeling a bit nostalgic and have been ripping old-school goregrind all day. It is just after supper, and I have had ''Horror of the Zombies'' on repeat for a while now. While listening, I decided to do a bit of goregrind study, and have found a few cool facts about the band. To start off, IMPETIGO was formed in Illinois, and according to my research, they were among the first bands to use horror movie samples as intros for their songs. According to Wikipedia, they are listed as a fusion of grindcore and deathmetal, but anyone who has heard anything about these guys knows that they were genuine pioneers of the goregrind sub-genre. Once again, as listed on Wikipedia, it says that ''their lyrical themes mostly include 70s and 80s splatter films, cannibal films and gore.'' I already knew this personally, but I figured that this was worth a mention. One could probably understand how this band is not for the squeamish or the faint of heart. In 2010, the DVD ''Defiling the Stage'' was released, which features four live acts. One is from 1987, two are from 1990, and the last is from a reunion show which took place in 2007. The band has quite an extensive output musically, and have put out a large handful of releases. These releases include ''All We Need Is Cheez'' (1987, live demo), ''Giallo'' (1989 demo), ''Ultimo Mondo Cannibale'' (1990), ''Antefatto'' (1991, split 7" EP with Blood), ''Buio Omega'' (1991, 7" EP), ''Faceless'' (1991, 7" EP), ''Horror of the Zombies'' (1992), ''Primitives'' (1999, split 7" EP with Transgressor), ''Late Night Necrophiliac Fun'' (1999, split MCD with Ingrowing), ''Live Total Zombie Gore Holocaust'' (2008, Live) and a newly released (December 2018) split 7'' with Noise Nihilist that features tracks originally on ''Ultimo Mondo Cannibale''. My two favorites would have to be ''Ultimo Mondo Cannibale'' and ''Horror of the Zombies''... but for me personally, the latter will always take the cake. On the topic of ''Horror of the Zombies'', this release includes ten blistering gore-filled tracks. Although I enjoy all tracks on this album, my all-time favorites would have to be Boneyard, I Work for the Streetcleaner, Wizzard of Gore and Breakfast at the Manchester Morgue. These songs have been very monumental to me, and have helped establish my own personal taste in music and playing style. The band was made up of Stevo Dobbins, Mark Sawickis, Dan Malin and Scotty Bross. I have only ever been in contact with Mark. We spoke a few times in the past, and contrary to the themes of the music, he seemed to be a genuinely kind and down to earth individual. For a man that helped start the entire sub-genre of gore, he always seemed very humble to me. IMPETIGO to me will always be one of the best goregrind bands in existence, and anyone interested in the sub-genre should sincerely give them a good hearty listen. I use the term ''gore gods'' lightly, but that is exactly what these guys represent for me. Heavy and grotesque since their inception... they are true royalty within the scene they helped build. There is not much more I can say, except check these guys the fuck out! You won't regret it... I promise. Goregrind for life! -Devin Joseph Meaney

Lineup:

Stevo Dobbins: Vocals, bass

Mark Sawickis: Guitars

Scotty Bross: Guitars

Dan Malin: Drums