Consuming Impulse 1989

"A favorite among many death metal fans, "Consuming Impulse" is more of a run-of-the-mill death metal release, but it is not bad, and the Pestilence trademark compact tense riffs are there. There are traces of Pestilence's old thrash metal roots, which are more dominant on "Malleus Maleficarum", and combined with the death metal style, they contribute some energy and intensity to the music, but also document the genre's general transition from thrash metal to death metal.

So, in that historical context, "Consuming Impulse" is a quite interesting death metal album, but in itself, I think it is okay, but nothing special. There are a lot of cool guitar riffs scattered all over the album, which is a sort of sign of things to come, as compact and intense riffs would later become one of the band's fortes.

This album does not feature Patrick Mameli on vocals but rather Martin van Drunen. Interestingly, I am not a big fan of the vocals on this album either, and they actually strike me as being more annoying than on subsequent Pestilence releases. Normally, I get used to the vocals on Pestilence releases after some time, but not on this one, for some reason.

Certainly, it is a classic and belongs in any death metal collection!

(review also posted on metalmusicarchives.com)"