When the death metal scene blew up in the early nineties, it was exciting to watch fresh new blood delivering a much-needed kick up the backside to many lethargic established acts. However, with little room for growth and proliferation of bands all covering the same ground, stagnation, and panic soon set in. Just as their predecessors had found, forward-thinking and experimentation were often frowned upon while the alternative was perceived as merely playing safe or laziness. It was survival of the fittest in a catch-22 situation and the fans were a fickle and unforgiving judge.
Thankfully, attitudes have changed dramatically over the years and innovation and progression have now not only been accepted but often embraced, and in some instances even demanded. Sure, there are still those who prefer to remain rooted in the past and that’s fine too, but new musical ideas come from bold steps and not many come bolder than those taken by New York’s Imperial Triumphant.
Whether it’s screeching metallic dissonance, violent expulsions of free form jazz, classically trained vocals or barbershop quartets, the unconventional masked trio revel in nonconformity and the unexpected. Two features that the band’s latest full length release, Spirit of Ecstasy (Century Media), has in abundance.
For example, who out there had Kenny G on their 2022 Extreme Metal Bingo Card? Yes, second single ‘Merkurius Gilded’, a particularly challenging and discordant wall of noise sure to make many first time listeners pull their own ears off, features a withering saxophone break from none other than the popular curly haired ’90s smooth jazz sex symbol. Avid followers of the band won’t be too surprised by this turn of events as G’s son, guitarist Max Gorelick has collaborated with the band before, but this is just one of many left turns into a maze of misdirection and aural confusion.
Opener ‘Chump Change’ features rolling drums, undulating basslines and angular, atonal riffing while full stops, whiplike keyboard jabs and chaotic crescendos accentuate the tension. The tumultuous ‘Metrovertigo’ uses an unsettling slower section to great advantage before vocalist Zachary Ilya Ezrin roars the song back to life backed by ominous chanting. ‘Tower of Glory, City of Shame’ continues the band’s theme of juxtaposing decadence with poverty while the oppressive, churning vortex of ‘Death on a Highway’ somehow boasts some of the record’s most melodic moments.
The improvisational, claustrophobic jazz hallucination of ‘In the Pleasure of Their Company’ is followed by the equally disquieting and inharmonious ‘Bezumnaya’ before nightmarish David Lynch road movie ‘Maximalist Scream’ brings the curtain down with guest vocals from Voivod frontman Denis “Snake” Bélanger adding to the stentorian horror.
A uniquely jarring and sonically disorienting experience, Spirit of Ecstasy is another masterclass in artistry and musicianship. Ezrin roars, skronks, chugs and slides, drummer Kenny Grohowski appears to have kidnapped Meshuggah‘s Thomas Haake and turned him into a personal clone army while bassist Steve Blanco clearly has way too many fingers.
Featuring a host of guest appearances, this latest odyssey into the avant-garde includes such names as Alex Skolnick of Testament and Trey Spruance of Mr Bungle, singers Andromeda Anarchia, Sarai Chrzanowski, and Yoshiko Ohara of Bloody Panda, plus Colin Marston of Gorguts, avant-metal and hardcore string quartet Seven Suns, and of course four time Emmy winner J. Walter Hawkes, the Mississippi trombonist responsible for the music on children’s TV shows like Wonder Pets and Clifford the Big Red Dog (!).
And you thought it couldn’t get any weirder than Kenny G.
Buy the album here: https://imperialtriumphant.lnk.to/SpiritOfEcstasyID
9 / 10
GARY ALCOCK