Imperium
When Kings Meet
Out: September 23rd, 2023
Founded in 2015 in the British capital London, Imperium play Classic Heavy Metal with a Thrash touch in the style of Metallica, Armored Saint or Anthrax. Two EPs were released in 2017 and 2022. The confusing thing is that both are self-titled. But with quite different song material. Only “Ragnarok” is included on both discs, but in different versions. With “When Kings Meet” you can now listen to the third EP.
The EP is announced in the press release as “Bombastic UK Heavy Metal”. But what we hear in the opener and title track “When Kings Meet” is Classic Thrash Metal. You can definitely hear the references (see above). Maybe not as extreme as early Metallica, but still going in that direction. This continues after the fade in with “Desperate Screams”. Fast guitar runs and booming drums dominate, along with the scratchy, pressed voice of Ben Porter. Especially the refrain sounds melodic here. “Capable Of Murder” is High Speed Metal with a strong Thrash edge. The regular closing song “Iron Thunder” is no exception. Here the announced bombast can be heard to some extent. With a huge guitar solo. The two live recordings that follow are of such poor quality that you can hardly listen to them. The band should probably not have included them on the EP.
Even if you should rather listen past the last ten minutes. The four regular songs are of high quality. So, my rating refers exclusively to the four studio productions. Actually, a complete album would be due now.
Imperium – Iron Thunder: https://youtu.be/SfyYehiD-e8
Lineup:
Ben Porter – Vocals
Rapha Comes – Bass
Hardip Sagoo – Lead Guitar
Scott Lomas – Rhythm Guitar
James Hawes – Drums
Track list:
- When Kings Meet
- Desperate Screams
- Capable Of Murder
- Iron Thunder
- Capable Of Murder (Live at Bloodstock Festival 2022)
- When Kings Meet (Live at Bloodstock Festival 2022)
Overall Rating : 8/10
