Setting their narrative hand upon planetary destruction, invasion, and artificial intelligence gone awry Monrovia, California-based and science fiction themed black metal quartet IMPERIALIST return for a third full-length album once again indebted to both classic Scandinavian muse and popular USBM trait alike. A modern fusion presented at a highly polished standard ‘Prime‘ is pure iteration upon a formula which has thus far served the band well, a feat of refinement more than it is any sort of paradigmatic shift in voice or vision. Returning fans should be pleased with some additional nudge given to already sharp production values and a few extra shots of speed along their path while newcomers will get a clearest yet window into the band’s realm herein.

Imperialist formed as a quartet circa 2013 for the sake of creating their own take on black metal set to evoke the fear and wonderment available to the cosmos. Their style appeared heavily inspired by Scandinavian black metal, death metal, and modern thrash metal via a well-formed debut EP (‘Quantum Annexation‘, 2015). It’ll be worth the context to hear all of the components of the band’s sound characterized on their first release and delivered with more immediacy than the broader scope of their full-lengths to come. I’d first discovered the band’s work in (favorable) review of their debut LP (‘Cipher‘, 2018), probably their most successful push into ebbing outer-spaced atmospheric movements but also less varied than each release to follow. It wasn’t the ‘Damned in Black‘ meets ‘Outer Isolation‘ meloblack hybrid I’d been told to expect but it was a fine debut.

Their next album was just as good but did stick with me the way the first’d. Despite having enjoyed Imperialist‘s second LP (‘Zenith‘, 2021) as a stab at something even more ‘epic’ and generally mid-paced the glacial flatness of their sound hadn’t evolved. In review I’d suggested: “[Imperialist] have a great aesthetic, a distinct enough sound, professional recording and seem to have found their groove on this second album. ‘Zenith’ nonetheless lands a little bit flat in terms of extending that core personality into impressive or memorable songcraft and as a result the album often feels like they’re hesitating on some bigger ideas” Each record carries a clear narrative voice which lacks strong intonation, not unlike the effect produced by earlier Inquisition, and this is not the actual complaint as I enjoy the hypnotic early 2000’s Abbath-esque effect that arises. My issue with album number two was concerned with their pacing matching up with a certain level of intricacy as their compositions had yet to fully suit the constant comparisons to late 90’s Swedish melodic black/death metal (and late 2000’s technical thrash metal) that’d accompanied all analysis-lite attached. Still I’m not one to shrug off quality, not-so run-of-the-mill mid-paced black metal.

Consistency of performance, sharp presentation and a distinct sound are given presets here as ‘Prime‘ upholds the always high standards Imperialist‘ve enforced and the production values assigned here follow suit, still aiming for taut movement as a cohesive unit and a render which captures their rasping columnar sound while also speaking to their taste in Swedish extreme metal. Engineered by Abysmal Dawn‘s Charles Elliot and mixed/mastered by the maestro Dan Swanö the overall effect is not as space-blasted as the band’s debut but generally a bit more crisp and immediate in presence compared to ‘Zenith‘. I figure Swanö is the perfect choice for this band especially considering how he has handled the drums here as a major component of style while still allowing both the rhythm and lead guitars more of the real estate overall. Opener “Starstorm” pushes all suggested levels into place from the outset as ‘Prime‘ already begins to pick up the pace in general but what’d ultimately caught my ear outright was the anchor position of the bass guitar in the mix. Loud as the whole affair is this low-set thunder tone growls across that opening piece in an appreciable way. There isn’t all that much room for dynamic movement within the band’s attack but we do ultimately find these folks training on nuance throughout this third album.

We’ll find more of said nuance in the basslines on “Depravity Beheld” a bit later as the heavy metal side of Imperialist‘s realm lands upon steadier tempo but the real highlight and characteristic piece to be found on Side A is “Beneath the Sands of Titan” as they achieve the full gamut of their oeuvre, sling a few big leads, and rattle through their slow-curved black thrashing grooves. Though I’d like to suggest the band’ve achieved some wild evolution here most of ‘Prime‘ ultimately hits the same as the two previous records beyond picking up some extra speed on the first half of the experience, the structure of their work hasn’t necessarily budged at all but it does sound huge. Another single “I A.M.” brings that mention of ‘Damned in Black‘ back into focus a bit and the lyrics are entertaining but I have to admit my interest in the first half of full listen began to wane after a few passes.

As was the case with ‘Zenith‘ dramatic intrigue and intricacy begin to rise over on Side B with “Union of the Swarm” initially catching the most attention for its thrashing yet melodic cadence to start and then bounding, oddly livened rhythms which kick off around ~1:15 minutes in. Closer “A Ghost Abandoned” is otherwise fittingly dramatic in its presentation, an extended entrance and a duck into volatile action. I can’t say that these songs are particularly ear-worming or that they introduce anything new to the Imperialist armory at face value but there is the sense that this is their ideal loosening of some general rigidity, achieving a sort of rocking swing here and there along the way without fully committing to a full (or, consonant) melodic phrase. This is where I end up a bit disappointed as a fan of this type of music and the possibilities available when presented in glossy hi-fi as ‘Prime‘ lacks in statement, hook, or additional showmanship beyond previous releases despite having improved overall in terms of coherence and pacing.

With that said I know the more general metal fandom appreciates consistency and iteration beyond outright evolutionary leap and in that sense ‘Prime‘ refines the thread while doing a bit more work under the hood, allowing some nuance to build without changing Imperialist‘s droning tune. It doesn’t make for a record I’ll return to often, likely retaining my preference for their first LP, but one that (again) carries the thread in a satisfying way and with fine production values applied. A moderately high recommendation.

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