As if they wanted to double down on being messengers from another time in an alternate universe, the title track of Imperial Triumphant's new album is... a jingle for cigarettes. The cover even has a warning message glued onto it, and to open the gatefold cover you have to open a seal. That's surely one for the "mint; sealed copy" crowd.
"Try new Goldstar. Die for Goldstar. The epitome of mid Century." the barbershop vocalist sings. But as out of time as it appears, there's definitely no doubt about the place. Because as always everything the masked trio does is an artistic reflection of the moloch and metropolis New York in a portait of hybris, greed and decadence.
"Try new Goldstar. Die for Goldstar. The epitome of mid Century." the barbershop vocalist sings. But as out of time as it appears, there's definitely no doubt about the place. Because as always everything the masked trio does is an artistic reflection of the moloch and metropolis New York in a portait of hybris, greed and decadence.
IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT - Goldstar (transparent blue vinyl LP) (2025)
The central question is obvious: How can Imperial Triumphant follow up the maximalist overload of "Spirit of Ecstasy" - and what's different this time?
"Goldstar" is shorter: Not a double album, but a compact package of forty minutes.
"Goldstar" centers more around the core musicians and doesn't feature as many guest appearances.
A couple of extra vocals and narrations and two tracks with trombones and trumpets don't count as a surprise and aren't actually much for this band. The one guest who really sticks out is Dave Lombardo dueling with Kenny Grohowski on "Pleasuredome". With two rabid machines like these this track definitely doesn't need morecowbell drums. It's awesome.
"Goldstar" has a lower entry threshold for listeners who like Dissonant Death Metal but may have been a bit overwhelmed by the angular, aggressively artistic bulkiness of the previous albums.
Not that Imperial Triumphant are playing easily digestable singalong music and foregoing the Jazz expertise embedded in their songwriting now, but there are several aspects which deliberately appeal to a potentially broader audience within the Extreme Metal community.
As such we have songs like the opener "Eye of Mars" featuring some quite traditional Morbid Angel "Altars Of Madness" style riffs. We hear a brighter guitar tone, be it in in melodic licks or Voivod "Nothingface" vibe passages. Most importantly however the average song length is just shorter.
"Goldstar" could surely be coined an Imperial Triumphant for beginners album, yet it achieves that without dumbing down or risking to disappoint the established fan base. All this is still some superbly unhealthy shit.
Imperial Triumphant tower imposing like a mega city's skyline in a thunderstorm. Yet they're also flooding us with insane, absurdly spectacular performances in an intensity that is just a pure cathartic delight to behold. Somehow you can never tell if their amazing musicianship makes them rather Progressive or just harrowingly chaotic. That era of tension - and all that freaking Jazz of course - is what makes them so intriguing - and in my opinion one of the most relevant Metal bands of the present.
"Goldstar" distills all their qualities without lengths into nine class A tunes - and seriously: If you've expected me to find anything bad in album that ends with a demonically twisted but still deeply respectful homage to The Beatles' "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" during the finale of "Industry of Misery", you must be delusional.
No, ZacharyKennySteve are in the masterpiece business. This smoking album is no exception from their impressive streak and could even crack open new possibilities for them.
Naturally “Goldstar” is already a top candidate in the race for the title of the Metal Album of the Year.
"Goldstar" is shorter: Not a double album, but a compact package of forty minutes.
"Goldstar" centers more around the core musicians and doesn't feature as many guest appearances.
A couple of extra vocals and narrations and two tracks with trombones and trumpets don't count as a surprise and aren't actually much for this band. The one guest who really sticks out is Dave Lombardo dueling with Kenny Grohowski on "Pleasuredome". With two rabid machines like these this track definitely doesn't need more
"Goldstar" has a lower entry threshold for listeners who like Dissonant Death Metal but may have been a bit overwhelmed by the angular, aggressively artistic bulkiness of the previous albums.
Not that Imperial Triumphant are playing easily digestable singalong music and foregoing the Jazz expertise embedded in their songwriting now, but there are several aspects which deliberately appeal to a potentially broader audience within the Extreme Metal community.
As such we have songs like the opener "Eye of Mars" featuring some quite traditional Morbid Angel "Altars Of Madness" style riffs. We hear a brighter guitar tone, be it in in melodic licks or Voivod "Nothingface" vibe passages. Most importantly however the average song length is just shorter.
"Goldstar" could surely be coined an Imperial Triumphant for beginners album, yet it achieves that without dumbing down or risking to disappoint the established fan base. All this is still some superbly unhealthy shit.
Imperial Triumphant tower imposing like a mega city's skyline in a thunderstorm. Yet they're also flooding us with insane, absurdly spectacular performances in an intensity that is just a pure cathartic delight to behold. Somehow you can never tell if their amazing musicianship makes them rather Progressive or just harrowingly chaotic. That era of tension - and all that freaking Jazz of course - is what makes them so intriguing - and in my opinion one of the most relevant Metal bands of the present.
"Goldstar" distills all their qualities without lengths into nine class A tunes - and seriously: If you've expected me to find anything bad in album that ends with a demonically twisted but still deeply respectful homage to The Beatles' "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" during the finale of "Industry of Misery", you must be delusional.
No, ZacharyKennySteve are in the masterpiece business. This smoking album is no exception from their impressive streak and could even crack open new possibilities for them.
Naturally “Goldstar” is already a top candidate in the race for the title of the Metal Album of the Year.
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