Album Review: Imperial Triumphant – Goldstar (Century Media)

Infamous avant-garde metal trio Imperial Triumphant are back with a brand-new album called ‘Goldstar’. It will be released on March 21st, 2025, via Century Media Records.

Isn’t it always fun to try and describe the indescribable? There are very few bands that challenge this much from both a writing and listening perspective. How do you explain to someone, especially the uninitiated, how unique this band is? Inevitably, we all get stuck using words like ‘avant-garde’ or ‘experimental’ to sum them up, but rarely does that do them justice. Being weird is one thing, but being weird with a purpose is another, and Imperial Triumphant only make music with purpose.

Goldstar is a continuation of their unique ways, yet it is different. All because they’ve taken a more concise approach to song structure and length. While I would certainly not call this album accessible in any way, it is fair to say that this is Imperial Triumphant at their most understandable.

Does that make sense? It’s Imperial Triumphant, for goodness sake, making sense is hardly important.

I do believe that as polarising as they are, Imperial Triumphant are one of the most creative bands in the entire world, and every new release stands on its own as something special. This continues to be true as far as Goldstar is concerned, and for around forty-minutes I was captivated by monolithic soundscapes that showcase the rampaging chaos of extreme metal and staggeringly inventive freeform jazz.

Expect something maddening, something devilish, something unique, and something unforgettable, and then be prepared to be surprised by a track with more straight-forward elements. It is Eyes of Mars, the opening track, and it showcases the power of their death metal side, letting a cacophony of insane sounds compliment the intensity, rather then become the focal point. It is very clever and complimented by more classic Imperial Triumphant experimentation with Gomorrah Nouveaux. Were, aside from being notably savage and having towering melody, the twist on Gnawa music is fascinating.

Paying homage to classic New York City architecture (the video was filmed at the iconic Chrysler Building) in their inimitable way, Imperial Triumphant evolve their creative skills to offer up something more daringly and enigmatically accessible. It’s one of the album’s most gravitating songs, even with its surrealism, and ends delivering a cacophony of heavy sounds as it goes on.

It is one of the most brilliant, and fascinating tracks on the album, and one that embodies the urban cityscape feel of the record. Imperial Triumphant can place the listener in a metropolis with music like this, but it’s a twisted version with a dark underbelly that they’re exposing. Something that the legendary Tomas Haake makes more vivid in the mind with his guest spot.

As weird as it is chaotic, but with mind-bending aspects of catchiness, Hotel Sphinx is next, resembling something more psychedelic as it goes on. Just the kind of madness that is par for the course with this band, something that is equally as prominent on the following NEWYORKCITY and the title track. The former features Toshiko Ohara screaming over 47-seconds of eye-watering noise, the sound of a drug-induced trip that no-one would ever want to have. Whereas the latter is an old-timey radio ad, with crackling static, that captures a lost period perfectly.

Love them or loathe them, no-one can deny that Imperial Triumphant are one of the most boundary pushing metal bands in the world. Even when delivering something that feels less colourful, and more monochrome, it comes with a sharpness. Everything about this album, Rot Moderne and Pleasuredome included, expands the mind, causes the body to shiver and shake, and exposes the soul in dangerously addictive ways.

The latter of those two tracks has some of the heaviest Imperial Triumphant sounds, but the ‘Samba crossed with Jazz’ aspect is all anyone will remember here. Well, that and the two guests, who might seem out of place, but are incorporated really well. Adding their own touch of madness to things.

I really hope I’ve expressed the brilliance of this album here, but I also hope I’ve expressed how the polarising aspects of Imperial Triumphant aren’t as egregious here as they often are. I don’t think this will change the mind of a life-long hater, but if you’ve been on the fence before, this might push you on the side they’re on. It’s a side that has Industry of Misery on it, the album’s finale, and track that will likely leave you sitting mouth agape. Every twist and every turn, is spectacular, and come the end all anyone can do is marvel at it, and Imperial Triumphant as whole. Again.

They are one of the most game-changing bands in the world and, once again, they push metal forward with an album that is like nothing else, including the music they’ve created before.

Imperial Triumphant – Goldstar Track Listing:

1. Eye of Mars
2. Gomorrah Nouveaux
3. Lexington Delirium (ft. Tomas Haake)
4. Hotel Sphinx
5. NEWYORKCITY (ft. Yoshiko Ohara)
6. Goldstar
7. Rot Moderne
8. Pleasuredome (ft. Dave Lombardo & Tomas Haake)
9. Industry of Misery

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