After Imperial Triumphant's dizzying dissonance reached its most obtuse peaks on 2022’s dense, knotted Spirit Of Ecstasy, it was difficult to see where NYC’s avant-garde trio could go next. Having doggedly toured the festival circuit since, and re-familiarised themselves with the classic songwriting chops of Metallica and Rush on last year’s covers EP, they’ve taken a relatively more accessible approach for their fifth full-length. Of course, you won’t find any radio-friendly choruses or pop hooks here, but there is a notably more immediate, visceral edge to these songs.
The pulverising opener Eye Of Mars and Pleasuredome, featuring both Dave Lombardo and Meshuggah drummer Thomas Haake, make room for gnarly, eminently headbangable death metal riffs among their usual jazzy skronk. Hotel Sphinx kicks off with triumphant heavy metal trills played at blistering pace, like blasting a late-period Death record at double speed, before traversing fusion-informed soundscapes and brutish, Gorguts-esque chugs in under five minutes.
