Imperial Triumphant : "Goldstar"

These guys won me over live. In the studio they have once again orchestrated chaos, that can not always be heard as the catchiest songwriting, though the opening taking descends into a place dark enough for me. In some ways, this is more blatant metal with songs like "Gomorrah Noveaux" riding a taunt clockwork chug. The vocals are snarls but articulated enough that the lyrics come across. It makes me think of a death metal band covering early Pink Floyd. Meshuggah's drummer joins them for "Lexington Delerium" though it's darker and more atmospheric than you might expect with such a guest aboard. It is not until the midway point that things get hammered into place. To their credit these are more concise songs, and perhaps some of the band's most accessible work to date. 

Stylistically this album is not what I would refer to as black metal anymore. Progressive metal is the most fitting label for what these guys are doing. There are tremolo-picked guitar parts at times, but it never feels like aggressive darkness being pursued. "Hotel Sphinx" finds them fairly straightforward in the commitment to the chug, with some chaotic dissonance interspersed. "NEWYORKCITY" is a quick blast of grind-core chaos and is more like an interlude. The title track is also under a minute and is a 1920's sounding ragtime ditty, that is also more of an interlude. "Rot Moderne" has more in common with the more brooding edges of the band's past work, The vocals are a lower growl as they churn through angular riffs that follow Mr. Bungle-like math. 

They almost turn "Pleasuredome' into a drum circle as they are not only joined by Haake again, but Dave Lombardo as well, so the song is percussion-heavy, to say the least. The first minute and a half is the slow build into the song. It does find its groove which would be hard for it not to with the additional drummers. "Industry of Misery' closes the album. This one snarls out of a more jazzy ambiance. It also hits more like death metal when things kick in. There is a boozy swoon to the angular nature of the lumbering riffage. There seem like more samples being used on this album than the previous one. The guitar solo to this song is trippy and interesting, the first time a metal band has done something that reminded me of Jimi Hendrix in Many a Moon. I like the darker turn the song takes as it feels like they jam it out til the end.  I will give this one a 9.5, for their willingness to experimental while still writing songs, This one is on Century Media Records. 

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