Biography

Surely one of the first black metal ensembles to emerge out of the island country of Singapore, Impiety was formed in 1990 by vocalist/bassist Shyaithan (real name Ariffeen Deen) with guitarist XXXul and drummer Iblyss -- all of whom pledged their allegiance to both Satan and extreme metal after coming into contact with the virulent creations of world-spanning genre pioneers such as England's Venom, Switzerland's Hellhammer, Brazil's Sarcófago, and the early works from Sweden's Bathory, to name but a few. In relatively short order, the trio began making their presence known to independent tape traders worldwide with 1992's evocatively named Ceremonial Necrochrist Redesecration demo, and then cemented their underground credibility via subsequent official releases such as 1993's Salve the Goat...Iblis Exelsi EP, 1996's Asateerul Awaleen album, 1997's Funeralight EP, and 1999's subtle-as-can-be Skullfucking Armageddon full-length. The new millennium saw Impiety achieving a new level of recognition thanks to world-wide distribution deals with, first, France's Osmose Productions and, later, Poland's Agonia label, but their releases throughout the decade (including 2002's Kaos Kommand 696, 2004's Paramount Evil, 2006's Tormentors of Tijuana live album, and 2007's Formidonis Nex Cultus), remained largely "trve" to the group's original misanthropy and intentionally crude, supremely savage style of black metal. One thing that didn't stay the same was the group's lineup, however, which has been in constant flux from virtually day one, seeing nearly a dozen musicians -- most of them going by a confusing series of pseudonyms: Abyydos, Fyraun, Leprophiliac Rex, etc. -- briefly joining lone mainstay Shyaithan. By the time of 2008's Dominator EP, for instance, Impiety consisted of Shyaithan, guitarist Mike Priest, bassist Demonomancer, and drummer Tremor. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, Rovi