Were one to strip away all of the subtlety and nuance from extreme metal, sparing only the raw malice and lethality, the hideous carcass remaining would look awfully similar to Disimperium. The Portland-based black/death metal group’s grim take on war metal–experimenting heavily in an already nebulous genre space–is a twisted affair that brings listeners into a morbid, decrepit world of their own. Their debut album Grand Insurgence Upon Despotic Altars uses howls, urgent drumming, and hellish, unrestrained guitars as murky paintbrushes to set a scene of turbulence where the only constant seems to be death. We’re streaming “Carry Forth the Edict of Annihilation” now – listen below.
…
…
“Unrelenting” is a good word to summarize the track: after immediately launching into rapid blast beats, things really don’t let up. It’s a grotesque blur of chaos that’s moving quick enough that it’s hard to comprehend; spidery, heavily distorted guitar riffs are only anchored to reality by the frantic drum pace. Even the song’s second act, which builds up an extremely cool, if terrifying, soundscape of howling winds and guitars, isn’t really a slowdown–and it kicks back into gear soon enough anyway.
“Carry Forth the Edict of Annihilation” is martial and aggressive, but it also bulges with rot. It’s urgently warmongering, but also explores the aftermath. It sets a scene of a blood-spattered realm, but one where much of the blood has long since dried and blackened. There’s layers here, though it’s all ultimately delightfully macabre.
…
Grand Insurgence Upon Despotic Altars releases July 21st via Sentient Ruin Laboratories.
