IMPERIVM is Power Metal band from Varese, Lombardy, Italy. This is their third full-length album in ten years and first since 2017's ''Rome Burns''. The band members are named after Roman emperors mixed in parts of their real names, I thought it was a nice touch and reminded me of a very good local band called EX DEO that had the same idea.

The roman gladiators of IMPERIVM are back to wage the most epic war, the fabled Holy War. It's not necessarily the telling of the story of this war yet a reminder of a lot of things going on during that period of time. You can say that the historical aspects of their music throughout this opus reminds us of SABATON and their constant history lessons throughout the last 2 decades or so. I always enjoyed the historical part of music and lyrical themes revolving around history will always have a soft spot in my heart.

The conflict between the Roman Catholic Church and the deemed Pagans date from the beginning of time itself pretty much and the crusades or Holy War was a way to put an end to heretics that were seen as a threat to organized religion. The crusades were bloody, tireless wars against religion and we all know that religion is one of the basis for war throughout the world, from the olden times to now. Defiance vs Order will always create some chaos, organized or not.

There is a simplistic approach to the Power Metal sound on this album. It's not going to really stand out and may have been a bit too overdone. I felt the music was quite good but nothing that really pops up at first glance. The overall effort and effect is there and it's enjoyable but it lacks in proper creativity. I liked the maturity of the lyrics and overall theme of the album but the execution might have been better. Spartacus Thracius has a good voice but lacks the proper range to make the songs better as a whole. A great singer will pull through and have the rest of the band on his back but this wasn't the case unfortunately. He has good chops but just doesn't hit the high notes like the best of them.

You can obviously see the SABATON influence throughout this album, every song is a full-fronted assault on the audience and they keep you on your toes. It packs a lot of energy and intensity like their Swedish counterparts. The lack of a great singer does hurt the overall quality of the songs, when you have a Power Metal band, you gotta have a singer that has an interesting range. I think he lacks the emotion and fire you have from a lot of bands in the genre. I kind of felt it was a homogenous effort, a bit repetitive but it does have an old school Power Metal vibe that a lot of you out there really like

It has a powerful tone but lacks the precision to make it really stand out. Overall it's a good album, purest to the genre and doesn't lack in effort. The production is quite good but the songs seem to be interchangeable at times. The music is an ode to the mid-nineties Power Metal like ANGRA mixed in with the intensity of SABATON. It's a good effort but the lack of a powerful singer really hurts the overall effectiveness of the band itself.