Makeshift Altars

      What sort of year would it be if we didn't hear from the undisputed kings of modern US black metal? Looking back on a twelve year long catalog of releases, its hard to find a time when Krallice wasn't dominating the landscape of the avant-garde with their evolving brand of harmonically dense blackness.     That said, I have a confession to make. Despite my reverence, I honestly haven't given that catalog much of a listen. I first encountered Krallice back in 2011 with the release of Diotima, an album I have returned to frequently over the past nine years. However I never found it in myself, for whatever reason, to look into either of their previous releases, a self-titled work and 2009's Dimensional Bleedthrough , nor did I continue to follow the band with their 2012 album Years Pat Matter . Back when I was running a metal show from SUNY Potsdam's radio broadcast 90.3 WAIH in 2015 I included the track "Wastes of Ocean" off of the newly released Ygg H...

    From within the depths of the great urban hellscape of New York City rises another regurgitation from progressive black metal behemoths Imperial Triumphant. For over a decade now the most vile of power trios imaginable have been navigating murky, sludge-infested waters, towing the line between several well-established brands of black metal extremism. By their own account 1 , the group found their stride in 2018 with the release of Vile Luxury . Touting a subtle change in tone compared to their previous output, Vile Luxury put a brooding and angular metropolitan sound on display that was equal parts scathing deconstruction and austere reverence of urban life. With the release of Alphaville , Imperial Triumphant look to continue and evolve that soundscape.     Right out the gate Alphaville  positions itself in contrast to its predecessor. The opening track of Vile Luxury , "Swarming Opulence", began with a bombastic horn quartet intro, meandering towards an ab...