Imperial Triumphant
Abyssal Gods
Aural Music/Code 666
Street: 03.10
Imperial Triumphant = Deathspell Omega + Gorguts + Artificial Brain
 
Abyssal Gods plays out like the musical fantasy draft of anyone who grows tired of finding new ways to say that an album is enjoyable but not unique. If you could find the right elements to construct an attention-grabbing album, Abyssal Gods is that concoction. Complex and dense, but quick to open up with repeated listens, Abyssal Gods is engrossing and expertly composed, without being fatiguing. Most importantly, it’s not weird for weirdness’ sake and is surprisingly accessible. With all of its technicality, bizarre chording and death metal influence, the guardrails implied by the black metal tag are thoroughly shredded—Imperial Triumphant’s van of atonality careens into the ravine, pulling free jazz and warm death riffs with them. There is something to be said for being a sentinel for the purity of a style of music, and there’s another for obliterating conventions and composing honest, heavy, crushing, genre-bending MUSIC. Imperial Triumphant are doing just that. 
–Peter Fryer