As one of the biggest up-and-coming Black Metal bands in the German scene at the moment, the duo of IMPERIUM DEKADENZ have become increasingly well-known over the last couple of years, with much of this renown being thanks to the very well-received 2013 album "Meadows of Nostalgia". Unleashing their fifth full-length album "Dis Manibvs" in August last year, this album sees IMPERIUM DEKADENZ continue on their upward trajectory, and it's becoming increasingly clear that the band is well on their way to carving out their own niche in the Black Metal world.

"Dis Manibvs" is a quintessential Black Metal album, capturing everything the blackened heart can desire from an album, with influences stemming all the way from Old School Black Metal, all the way through to Post-Black Metal. IMPERIUM DEKADENZ really have explored well beyond the usual confines of the genre, giving rise to a powerful album that flows with mercurial ease from one  sub-genre into another. Hell, even the spelling of the name is kvlt and about as Black Metal as it gets. What makes the sound stand out that much more is that both band members are multi-instrumentalists; each has his own approach to the same instrument, giving each of the instrument differing aspects that gives "Dis Manibvs"  the diversity that really makes it outstanding.

Starting off with "In Todesbanden", a droney and cavernous intro leads up to the explosive sound of "Only Fragments of Light". What immediately stands out here is how the band have managed to create an up-beat and optimistic sound without compromising their Black Metal sound. Whilst other bands have often tried this, the results have often failed rather spectacularly (such as NARGAROTH's "Frühling"). Tremolo picking, frenetic drumming, and gravelly rasped vocals add to the darkness, which is skilfully tempered by chanted vocal passages and soaring guitar-work. This ambience is carried over to "Still I Rise", marked by uplifting and expansive feeling of breaking free from constraints, and topped off with celestial choirs. This makes the slow-paced melancholy and depression of the title song "Dis Manibvs" that much more haunting, with an intensity that cuts into your very soul. At the apex of the album, we find "Pantheon Spells", which at first listen perhaps feels somewhat weak in comparison to the stronger songs that come before and after it, comprising of just over two minutes of keyboards and whispered vocals. However, as an interlude, it works well in dragging you deeper into the music, and letting the faster tempo of "Vae Victis" hit home that much harder. A full on frenzied Black Metal song awaits us in "Volcano" with a swirling tempest of tremolo picked guitars added to a hailstorm of drum-beats that leaves you battered in its wake. And here IMPERIUM DEKADENZ show us that they not only know how to  compose bombastic songs, but they know how to arrange them in a way that keeps the listener hooked throughout, with the spacey instrumental soundscape of "Somnia" being the calm that follows the storm of "Volcano". Penultimately we have "Pure Nocturnal Rome", a dark and tumultuous song filled with brilliant Black Metal moments. In contrast to this, closer "Seikilos" comes in on a swaying, almost nautical shanty, before melding into a mid-tempo opus that really shows off what IMPERIUM DEKADENZ is capable of, and leaves you with an irresistible urge to hit the repeat button.

Featuring ten solid sound songs, there isn't a single moment on "Dis Manibvs" that feels like a mere filler. That being said, whilst using repetitive riffs does help create the atmosphere, it does sometimes feel like the songs drag on a little too long. But that is a minor gripe that is quickly eclipsed by the majesty of their sound. "Dis Manibvs" manages to walk the fine line between haunting symphonic undertows and rawer aggression, between searing moments of almost bliss-like hopefulness, and chasm-like quagmires of despair. The entire album can be summed up in one word: excellent!