Album Review: Immanifest – Macrobial (The Artisan Era)

Tampa, Florida-based symphonic black metal/death metal outfit Immanifest are excited to announce the release of their debut album, Macrobial, on November 8th 2019 via The Artisan Era.

Equal parts European extreme metal and American death metal, Macrobial is an impressive work of dark occultic art that combines symphonic black metal/symphonic death metal and other strains of bloodthirsty death metal together in a way all it’s own. The albums lengthy development is reflected in the expansive scope of Macrobial’s sound and the bands advanced songwriting acumen on display across its nine spellbinding tracks.

Immanifest comments on the release of Macrobial:

Macrobe was a term coined by Michael Tsarion – an Irish author, occult philosopher and lecturer – when describing the nature of entities contacted through supernatural rituals conducted by Dr. John Dee (mathematician, occult philosopher & advisor to Queen Elizabeth I) in the mid 16th century. Lyrically, the album explores this theme in a variety of ways including those of consciousness, death, astral travel, advanced and sequestered technology, and its weaponization through global war as a sacrificial blood ritual. Above all – the album describes a world submerged in a multi-dimensional wilderness, although deaf and blind to the influence of lifeforms that roam, explore, feed, and seek to experience what lay beyond their own dimensional horizons.

With an assault of drums and guitars mixed with gothic symphonic elements, Immanifest lay themselves bare almost immediately with the intro track, Energy Weapons Formed Against Us.

We say almost immediately because it’s the following Ultraterrestrial Creation that brings an important aspect to the table and that is the vocals. A blackened death metal style, it’s the perfect accompaniment to hard and heavy riffing, crashing and thrashing percussion and the injections of symphonic elements.

What’s a nice surprise about all of that is how it isn’t overly refined. With Immanifest and Macrobial as a whole, you’d expect a certain level of cleanliness but the band keep it a little rough and very frantic for the most part. This marks it out as something different especially as symphonic death metal isn’t exactly a unique proposition. The frantic nature of the record is exemplified by the excellent Wandjina and the incredible ferociousness of Black Miracle.

Of course, Immanifest are capable of moments that can be called a bit more ‘epic’ too. Tracks where the symphonic raises its head above the crushing metal even if it is just for a moment. Take a good look at Emissaries of Ikhenaton and its war-like sound or the cleaner singing moments of Jahbulon’s Labyrinth.

The only time we get any kind of break in the assault is with Orbis Speculari and even the haunting melody of this track only lasts 99 seconds!

It’s simply that Immanifest are way more focused on providing a heavy as brass balls listen here and with the intense double of Nifheim and Spirits of Old, they really do succeed.

Immanifest – Macrobial Full Track Listing:

1. Energy Weapons Formed Against Us
2. Ultraterrestrial Creation
3. Wandjina
4. Emissaries of Ikhenaton
5. Black Miracle
6. Jahbulon’s Labyrinth
7. Orbis Speculari
8. Niflheim
9. Spirits of Old

Links

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