Imperial Triumphant - Alphaville
Critic Score
Based on 8 reviews
2020 Ratings: #16 / 871
User Score
Based on 419 ratings
2020 Rank: #103
Liked by 64 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

90
Exclaim!

Alphaville is one of the year's darkest and most deranged collections of avant-garde metal, a surreal dystopian nightmare that is both terrifying and entrancing.

90
Metal Injection

More often than not, Alphaville comes off like the black/death metal equivalent of Miles Davis’ electric era, with its beauty shining through where it counts most.

90
Metal Hammer

Masked NYC brain-melters Imperial Triumphant serve up metal/jazz/avant garde/barbershop madness on majestic new album Alphaville.

90
Blabbermouth.net
It's one of those albums that will take multiple listens to truly absorb, but as a reward, your dreams (and nightmares) will be a lot more fucking interesting.
90
Distorted Sound

Alphaville has the airs of a modern classic. From start to finish, Imperial Triumphant have created a cinematic experience which exquisitely renders both bewildering urban sprawl and the apocalyptic mood of the present-day.

80
Sputnikmusic

Alphaville is an adventurous and gorgeous black metal record for one of the most fascinating acts out there.

80
The Needle Drop

With Alphaville, Imperial Triumphant upholds its blend of extreme metal and jazz without sounding like a novelty.

80
Angry Metal Guy

Between the fluid transitions between songs, the various head-jerking moments littered throughout, and the sheer level of musicianship on display by all involved, Alphaville showcases just what Imperial is capable of.

Stankysauce
95

THIS IS THE AOTY
Review coming soon!

Holy shit I can't believe I've hit 500 followers 😳. Thank you EVERYONE so much!

While this isn't exactly a new idea, I want to basically give a bunch of people i appreciate shoutouts and so give just a general thank you!

So while I don't review as much now on this site, l have been getting back in that habit recently, whether it's for The Flaming Lips, or a series of AOTY musicians.

I want to thank @pickle @chode @maqtheus @rater @Enigmaticsnob ... read more

JacksonLerner
87

nonchalantly abrasive, the music often appears as grand, epic... triumphant. especially with the piano, which is added to the background for chilling effect.

the drumming goes off; it can be so fast, yet so acoustic sounding. timely and on beat. slurred, dragging, and rushing. the bass is impressive, especially on the title track “alphaville”.

JayCrackers
99

As you may but most likely didn't realize is that I've been busy for the last couple of days and haven't actually posted anything mainly to due to organizing a few things, some birthdays, work etc. But throughout my absent I have been listening to the most recent hyped album from the music scene. Alphaville, the album not the band, by avant-garde black metal band Imperial Triumphant whom gained a lot of attention with their 2018 release Vile Luxury which i should review and rate but ya know ... read more

Quag3418K3l
90

Thanks again to @Blooperboyblue for the recommendation, I actually haven't ever listened to this band despite the praise they usually get so this was cool.

Rotted Futures is a great opener, love the dissonance and the winding riffs. The heavy chugging in places is really nice. City Swine reminds me of the stuff Inanimate Existence does for atmosphere but more progressive and dissonant instead of brutal. The drums are really fun on this song as well and I love how heavy it gets towards the end, ... read more

Blooperboyblue
90

This album attempts to blend jazz elements with black and death metal. Such a mixture could have easily come off as a bit gimmicky but the way it's done here is nothing shy of astonishing. It provides such a unique experience especially on tracks such as Atomic age or transmission to mercury which were highlights on the album for me. It does fall off though with the last two tracks not really fitting with the rest of the album well but the first seven are a must listen.

vordven
90

It might be the most 'elegant' album ever made in this genre (and it is debatable whether there is a genre).
All hail Godard!

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Track List

1Rotted Futures
5:59
83
2Excelsior
5:52
82
3City Swine
6:56
75
4Atomic Age
8:43
83
5Transmission to Mercury
6:41
81
6Alphaville
8:09
79
7The Greater Good
7:22
77
8Experiment
4:48
Bonus Track
71
9Happy Home
4:48
Bonus Track
65
Total Length: 59 minutes

Year End Lists

#3/Decibel
#23/The Needle Drop
#25/Revolver
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Added on: May 26, 2020