Into Sorrow Evermore (Napalm Records) marks the return of the German Black Metal two-piece Imperium Dekadenz, who wears the influence of the Norwegian second wave firmly on their sleeve, along with the inspiration of their Black Forest surroundings. The album is their seventh full-length release and dives deep into a landscape of atmospheric black metal, written as a symphony of aggressive yet uplifting music, woven around sweeping and mesmerising guitar riffs.

 

The record opens with the title track, providing a calming intro with a synth creating a sound of nature that drops suddenly with blast beats and a nefarious old-school black vibe. Imperium Dekadenz favour a prominent vocal in the mix, and the snarling voice of Horaz is darkly menacing, while the percussive work of Vespasian is highly impressive with lovely fills littered throughout the opener.

 

On ‘Aurora’ the duo build a slower melodic piece written around a simple yet effective classical piano riff, while ‘Elysian Fields’ provides an intoxicating rhythm and deep progressive textures.

 

‘November Monument’ is a slow and ponderous cut with the use of emotive synth pads which epitomises the overall sound that Imperium Dekadenz supplies, which is of a cinematic black metal persuasion. They go darker on ‘Awakened Beyond Dreams’, which has more of a menacing feel and is the bleakest moment on the record, a real classic slice of blackened metal which drops into a wonderfully eerie spoken word section.

 

Into Sorrow Evermore signs off with ‘Memories … Of A Raging River’ ending at a fast pace as the blast beats and furious drum fills return, before progressing to a melodic finale with acoustic strumming and soaring leads, which brings the release full circle by returning to the naturistic sound of the album’s intro.

Buy the album here:

https://www.napalmrecordsamerica.com/imperiumdekadenz

 

7 / 10

ABSTRAKT_SOUL_