Imperial Triumphant‘s sixth album Goldstar is complete with cigarette packaging artwork again featuring Zbigniew Bielak (Ghost/Carcass) and the generally dark and mysterious vibe that are this band’s stock in trade.Opener “Eye of Mars” is loud and explosive with wobbly bass playing and growled vocals helping to further the cryptic and eerie sounds juxtaposed against general bombast, making this collective more and intriguing with each additional note.
“Lexington Delirium” is a reference to the Art-Deco monolith The Chrysler Building in New York City, one of the band’s greatest influences. It starts out relatively silent before it gives way to sirens and car horns, allowing you to peer in on The City That Never Sleeps. The pace never gets out of control, continuing its targeted attack on your senses. Meshuggah drummer Tomas Haake makes his presence felt on this track as well as on later song “Pleasuredome” which also features the legendary Dave Lombardo to share the skins with.
“Hotel Sphinx” begins in more traditional death metal fashion with quickly played riffs and gruff vocals all laid on the bedrock of fat and deliberate bass riffs before returning to the fracas. The use of production means to have this canticle sound deliberately like it was being played through older audio equipment with similarly sounding singing from the past is what you want when you listen to Imperial Triumphant and their penchant for productions quality and overall subtlety. Known more for their longer form songs, the quick noodling of “NEWYORKCITY” pushes up against the self-titled tobacco ad of the album, truly an ode to the radio commercials of yore.
Imperial Triumphant have done a great job of bringing to life New York City, both its modern version and one of a bygone era. If you have never been to the city, consider this a fully-fledged advertisement for a visit. By bringing in guests and some unique histories to create an album that’s one of the band’s easiest to digest without robbing the band of their unique identity, Goldstar unfurls to reveal one of the band’s strongest efforts to date.
(released March 21, 2025 on Century Media Records)
