- Country: USA
- Style: Avant-garde metal / Avant-garde black metal
- Label: Century Media
- Release date: 22 July 2022
The New York trio have never sounded this much like their city. Spirit of Ecstasy is dissonant, jazz-wired extreme metal that refuses to sit still for more than a few bars, and it’s also the most listenable thing Imperial Triumphant have put out. Those two facts shouldn’t go together. Here they do.
“Chump Change” opens the record in full roar, Zachary Ezrin’s guitar lurching between grinding chords and sour, almost atonal runs while Kenny Grohowski plays drums like a man arguing with the click. “Metrovertigo” is pure claustrophobia. Then there’s the guest list, which reads like a dare. Kenny G turns up on “Merkurius Gilded” with his son Max Gorelick, and his soprano sax solo slides over the din like nothing is wrong, which is exactly why it’s so unsettling. Voivod’s Snake howls through closer “Maximalist Scream”, and Testament’s Alex Skolnick is in the credits too.
None of this is a gimmick. The guests fit the songs, not the other way round, and Steve Blanco’s bass keeps the whole skyscraper from toppling. “Tower of Glory, City of Shame” might be the best thing they’ve written. Put it on loud and let the city swallow you.
Best tracks:
Chump Change
Tower of Glory, City of Shame
Merkurius Gilded
Maximalist Scream
Author’s rating: 8.7/10
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