Review: Impureza – Alcázares

Style: technical death metal, progressive death metal, flamenco nuevo (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Beyond Creation, Allegaeon, Gorod, Ne Obliviscaris, Camarón de la Isla, Paco de Lucia, Nile
Country: France
Release date: 11 July 2025

The Romani gitanos in Andalusia were onto something ascendant with their flamenco music. Incorporating aspects from a plethora of musical traditions for their guitar playing and vocals—North Indian, Arabic and North African, Spanish, and Sephardic—the aggressive style of finger-picked acoustic guitars is practically synonymous with Spanish music. Flamenco is extremely distinct, too, with its own canonical melodies (heavily characterized by descending notes), modes, and rhythms, along with microtonal portamento and improvisation courtesy of the singer. Since flamenco is such a rigid system, folding metal into the mix is certainly a difficult task, although an incredibly intriguing one. Since 2010, France’s Impureza have wanted to be the face of the blend, and now on their third album, Alcázares, they continue making a strong case that they are.

Spanish guitar playing and flamenco have made their way into the technical death metal scene before with icons like First Fragment and Allegaeon, but both of them isolate the style from their core metal sound. On paper, (more on that later) Impureza bring the flamenco front and center. Largely taking their metal sound from modern fretless luminaries Beyond Creation, Impureza rely on frantically blasting drums, racing guitar lines, raspy harshes, and, of course, the voluptuous fretless bass. From there, the wild Frenchmen add on their distinct mix of conquistadorial, belted clean vocals, acoustic flamenco guitar lines, and Latin percussion. When it all comes together, the sound is glorious. Prime examples of Impureza firing on all cylinders come after the fully acoustic intro track bedecked with flourishes of Latin percussion and lush strings—such as during first song, “Bajo las Tizonas de Toledo,” which brings the Andalusian elements into the picture around the halfway point, weaving them in and out of the muscly riffs. “Castigos Eclesiástico” starts at a less furious tech pace but opens with the acoustic guitars in tandem with the death metal riffs; the closer “Santa Inquisición” has the most consistent mix of the disparate styles; and “Pestilencia” even brings some trumpet into the mix for another layer of Hispanic flair. 

“Bajo las Tizonas de Toledo” and “Reconquistar” both have a dramatic grand pause after a long tech death section, from which they turn into purely acoustic guitars with fretless bass and cleans. Impureza clearly know what they’re doing on the flamenco front, both as performers and writers, so it’s extremely frustrating that the band doesn’t integrate the acoustic guitars for the majority of the riffs. Impureza need to lean even harder into the flamenco death metal gimmick; yes, they’ve gone further with it than their peers, but they haven’t explored the style nearly as much as they could. 

Although nowhere near as satisfying as the acoustic flamenco sections, the style of playing seeps into the electric riffs, so not all is lost. Impureza’s riffs gallop in tight, marching staccatos, the melodies descending in furious bouts of Nile-esque guitar flurries; additionally, the riffs are in flamenco’s distinctive altered Phrygian mode. Most of the time when I have problems with a gimmick in progressive metal, I dislike that the artist is a “genre tourist” and don’t know the scene they’re imitating well enough to compose anything more than the basic stereotypes. But Impureza are masters of flamenco, and their problem is that they could push the envelope even further. The baroque ornamentation on their chuggy riffs and the wild chromatic solos are more proof that both the metal and flamenco influences are solid, so I just wish they’d use the acoustic more during the metal bits. 

In the eight long years since Impureza’s last album, flamenco metal really hasn’t progressed much (except for First Fragment’s 10/10 Gloire Éternelle), so I pray that Alcázares begins an invigoration for the style. Even though this record hasn’t fully lived up to Impureza’s lofty potential, the sick flamenco parts and killer riffs should keep me satisfied until the next release of the rare fusion.

Recommended tracks: Covadonga, Castigos Eclesiásticos, Santa Inquisición
You may also like: First Fragment, Equipoise, Augury, Kalaveraztekah, Triana, Curanderos, Ash of Necrossus, Ade
Final Verdict: 7.5/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives

Label: Season of Mist – Bandcamp | Facebook | Official Website

Impureza is:
– Esteban Martín – All Vocals
– Lionel Cano Muñoz – Rhythm, Lead & Spanish Guitars
– Florian Saillard – Fretless Bass
– Guilhem Auge – Drums
With guests:
– Xavier Hamon – Percussion
– Louis Viallet – Orchestration