Album Review: Imperial Triumphant — “Spirit of Ecstasy”

Imperial Triumphant - Spirit of Ecstasy

Longtime readers of this site know that we’ve been on the tip about Imperial Triumphant for quite a while now.  Between profiles, interviews, podcast episodes and, of course, album reviews (of which I’ve had the distinct pleasure of supplying two, plus a review of their tea collab), I think it’s safe to say we are pretty well sold on their particular brand, nebulous as it may be at times.  Even though Alphaville is barely two years old as of this writing, Spirit of Ecstasy feels like a long time coming.  Maybe it’s just because I can’t get enough of what they put out.

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Rainbows in the Dark: Arelseum — “Arelseum III”

Welcome back to a segment that I like to call What Has Colin Marston Been Up To, where we profile the latest and greatest in what Colin Marston has been up to.  Jokes aside, it’s easy to see why he’s the hardest working man in the game right now.  Just buy any album that he’s been a part of on Bandcamp and every first Friday of the month you’ll see just how much music he’s released and continues to release.  One of the projects that had me the most excited when it debuted was Arelseum, and the final piece of their trilogy Arelseum III finishes what they started in a meaningful way while paving the way towards the future.

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Album Review: Defeated Sanity — “The Sanguinary Impetus”

Defeated Sanity - The Sanguinary Impetus

Admittedly, I get drawn to high-minded concept, philosophical lyrics or cerebral, progressive elements that stretch the limits of the genres in metal all the time.  I love an album that is evocative, that makes me think about the world around me in new ways.  Equally as much, I love an album that’s ignorantly heavy and chock full of crushing, guttural brutality with just a hint of tasty experimentation, and sometimes it’s exactly what I need.  Thankfully, there’s Germany’s tech/brutal death metal veterans Defeated Sanity and their sixth installment The Sanguinary Impetus to smash my brain into a pulp. Continue reading

Album Review: Behold…the Arctopus — “Hapeleptic Overtrove”

It’s no secret that I am a gigantic fan of anything involving Colin Marston.  From his more well know tenures in bands like Gorguts, Krallice and Dysrythmia to engineering, mixing and mastering some of my favorite albums, I genuinely believe there’s nothing he can’t do.  My fascination with Martson began when I first heard Behold…the Arctopus like 15 years ago, and for a long time I simply knew him as “the Warr Guitar guy.”  On Hapeleptic Overtrove, Marston picks the Warr guitar back up, but this album is anything but the usual business, as if there was such a thing. Continue reading

Receiving the Evcharist: Chepang and Sloop Brewing’s Turbo Speed

Receiving the Evcharist 2018

Receiving the Evcharist is our weekly feature where we pair choice albums with our favorite libations. Drink from the cup of heresy. This week’s offering: Chepang’s Chatta and Sloop Brewing’s Turbo Speed. Continue reading