We all like familiar things. Familiar is comforting. It can be a reset point that balances the scales again.
Beyond all the neurological reasons we continue to go back to the music we loved as teenagers and
young adults, hearing something familiar can really grab your attention. That is why I believe the debut
release from Imperial Demonic, Beneath the Crimson Eclipse, gave me an uncanny, but familiar feeling.
It felt familiar, but new at the same time.
Imperial Demonic really embrace the melodic and symphonic black metal sound. Beneath the Crimson
Eclipse is five tracks, but that’s all it really needs to get the point across. Form the start, you know what
this album is going to be about musically, tonally, and thematically. Imperial Demonic tear through these
five songs with atmospheric and melodic guitar playing. Honestly, as guitar player, I’m not sure I have
the muscles and stamina in my hand anymore to accomplish the level and amount of tremolo picking
Daniel Dempster and Kacper Lewandowski perform on this album. Hell, Gareth Murdock on bass
probably has biceps on his fingers for the same reason. Camer on Åhslund-Glass absolutely kills it on
drums and really nails this style of black metal. And we can’t forget Andy Heathen on vocals. He has kind
of a filthy style I really appreciate.
Beneath the Crimson Eclipse is a solid offering for anyone’s black metal catalog. It is polished but not
over produced, and really gives hints of the black metal you might hear from twenty or thirty years ago
with out sounding stale or recycled. Imperial Demonic are just good old fashioned heavy metal fun. It
will make you want to throw this album on in your car, roll the windows down, crank it up, and call out
to your friends, “Get in loser! We’re going worshiping Satan!”
Overall Score: 8/10
Review by: Dan Perretta
