From Bandcamp, “Goldstar” takes perennial New Yorkers, IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT's exploration of the extreme and arcane and delivers the band’s most focused, authentic and accessible work to date. Featuring guest appearances by MESHUGGAH drummer Thomas Haake and legendary drummer, Dave Lombardo, both of whose presence makes it clear that musically, IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT are in a class by themselves. In their vision of urban disorder, IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT's monolithic cityscapes are dark as any of their extreme or black metal brethren.”

The album has nine songs, and “Eye of Mars” is first. The opening tones are very dark, heavy, dissonant, and somewhat chaotic from all that is going on in the background. It is so thick and overgrown, that you can barely parcel out some of the music. When I imagine Hell, I imagine this song. “Lexington Delirium” begins with clean tones, but they do a nice job of fooling you by luring you into the abyss with a smile until the entire landscape is revealed. Animated, thick bass notes back up the abhorrent sound, which also features some Progressive leanings. “Hotel Sphinx” is a ladder descending into the darkness, if you dare climb down. The bottom end of this song is so heavy, unleashing it would create a cavernous pit that has no floor, and the dissonance is controlled.

“NEWYORKCITY” is just as the title…a short, fast, and extremely chaotic affair as you imagine what life in the city is like. “Goldstar” is another short offering of oddly positive music that sounds like it came from the 1950’s, and deeply contrasts with the rest of the album. “Rot Moderne” is a bit more neutral at first, but as layers are added, it grows in intensity and the blackness of muck under your feet. It is so dissonant, the band barely hangs into the reigns, but they know exactly what they are doing. “Pleasuredome” begins with the sounds of sirens and ominous bell warning strikes. The riff comes crawling in from there, like some twisted beast slithering across the cold pavement, and it stays steady, but deadly as well.  

“Industry of Misery” closes the album, and it opens with clean tones and so much tension, you could cut it with a knife. It resides in the background, lurking, until it steps into the light. It is so hideous, you turn away your eyes. Some Black Metal albums aim for raw aggression, while others lean into cold atmospheres. This one thrives in the space between—a meticulously crafted storm of dissonance and depth. Beneath the blast beats and tortured screams, there is a profound sadness, a suffocating despair that lingers in the background like an ever-present shadow. The melodies, when they emerge from the maelstrom, are haunting—not as relief, but as an accentuation of the darkness. It’s a a journey through the depths of controlled chaos, where the void is vast but never aimless.