Metal Monday: Imperium Pledge Themselves To Metal

posted in: Reviews & Playlists • Rock

Side projects, second bands, solo acts”they are all a well-established part of the music world. Sometimes a musician has too many ideas for just one band, sometimes a musician just wants to do something totally different. Whatever the reason, these offshoots exist. Newly formed Imperium is no exception. Consisting of Steve Garner (of OurStage’s own The Bridal Procession), Robert Purnell (of Trigger The Bloodshed) and guitarist Mike Alexander, Imperium are set to release their debut album, Sacramentum on November 20, 2012 via New Division Records.

As a whole, Sacramentum is pretty much everything that an old-school death metal fan would want in an album. It’s forceful, focused, and unrelenting in just about every way. While not drenched in overwhelming technical prowess, the guitar work throughout the album is nothing to be scoffed at (Mike Alexander, as the press release said, is a virtuoso). Perhaps the most striking and impressive part of the album is Steve Garner’s vocals. Similar to his work with The Bridal Procession, his delivery is sharp, powerful, and incredibly guttural”surely one of the heaviest voices I’ve heard in death metal in recent years.

The lyrical content and even the artwork for the album are driven by the concept of the Roman Empire leading up to, during, and following the empire’s peak of power. Songs such as “Severed Dictator” and “The Great Apotheosis” fit the mood of their subject matter. From front to back, Imperium delivers a no-frills death metal album in its purest form. Sometimes being incredibly unique and different than your musical colleagues isn’t best”sometimes just doing a solid job at the classics is what listeners want, and that’s just what Sacramentum does.

If you’re a fan of straight-up death metal that harkens back to the old school, keep an ear out for Imperium’s de but on New Division Records (which happens to be the label’s first release).  Unfortunetly, the grand unveiling is still in the works, so we can’t provide the usual links and previews, but we can tell you the album will be worth the wait. Big things are coming from this little label.