Imha Tarikat – Sternenberster

Imha Tarikat

‘Sternenberster’

Prophecy Productions/Lupus Lounge

Black Metal

FFO: Bølzer, Mgła, Aihos, Chaos Invocation, Sargeist

Aah, it’s good to get a ‘proper’ black metal band… and by proper I mean a good ol’ fashioned two piece and that is exactly what you get with Imha Tarikat. The German’s made a name for themselves last year when they unleashed their debut album ‘Kara Ihlas’ and now less than one year later, the guys are back with their sophomore release ‘Sternenberster’.

                It is no surprise that with ‘Sternenberster’, Imha Tarikat keep their head down and deliver an album that could easily have been released in 1994. The band plough forward with extreme gusto, with pneumatic blast beats and jagged chainsaw guitars that are delivered through a minimalist production allowing ‘Sternenberster’ to really thrive appealing to the likes of Bølzer and Mgła. Yet, this album is not a blatant nostalgia trip, one that longs for the simplicity of the early 90’s; it may take its inspiration from there, but ‘Sternenberster’ does have a sharp modern side to it. Imha Tarikat are not afraid to show this; the band push beyond their comfort zone here, experimenting with different sounds that comfortably sit alongside a backbone of old school black metal. This means that tracks such as ‘Sturm der Erlösung’, ‘Kreuzpunkt der Schicksale’ and ‘Klimax Downpour’ really show that Imha Tarikat are more than capable of comfortably expanding their already burgeoning sound with swathes of avant-garde additions.

                ‘Sternenberster’ is the sound of a band moving to their own beat; they don’t need anyone else to tell them how to do it, they already know and they’re writing their own rulebook. When it comes to this album, Imha Tarikat have delivered one of the more interesting black metal albums of the year.

Adam McCann