Genre : Avant-garde blackened death metal
Released : July 31st, 2020
Label : Century Media Records
FFO : Ad Nauseam, Oranssi Pazuzu, Full of Hell
I missed the chance of writing a proper review of this record when it came out last year, so when @denis_musicreviews asked me if I wanted to join in on this new community post, I just had to say yes.
Imperial Triumphant are a New York based trio that are part of this wave of bands that are redifining classic genres of metal such as black and death metal by pushing the envelope of these genres through experimentation.
If the album art hadn't already given it away, "Alphaville" is heavily inspired by German cineast Fritz Lang's work, most notably the now legendary "Metropolis" alongside the era of the "Roaring Twenties" during which this movie was presented to the public.
The album acts out as a kind of twisted love/hate letter to the city of New York, depicting both its grandeur and the dystopian labyrinthic rat-race that hides behind its glamorous facade.
In terms of music, "Alphaville" is an absolute nightmare in sonic form.
A beautifully crafted nightmare, with heaps of deranged sounds, dissonant guitar riffs, off-time relentless death metal style drumming, deep groovy bass lines (love the bass work and tone on this album) and steady mid-range death metal growls.
The album is so packed with strange sound design that there are points where you wonder what is actually producing these worrying sounds that bring the deranged world of "Alphaville" to life.
The inclusion of brief passages of New York 20's swing jazz, orchestration, choirs and soft piano keys, interweaving with the relentlessness of death metal give "Alphaville" a sense of majesty and elusive beauty but even in those moments, something feels off which makes listening to this album such an intense and at times genuinely disturbing experience.
"Alphaville" is the epitomy of the polar opposite of "easy listening" but once you embrace the dissonant cacophony and appreciate how well constructed and performed this evil maze is, you can only marvel at Imperial Triumphant's creative musicianship and command them for pushing the boundaries of heavy music.