Style: Black metal
Primary Emotions/Themes: Sorrow, regret
Thoughts: Imperium Dekadenz is one of those band's that I have a mixed history with. Some of their albums blow me away with how good they are, other ones are so lackluster that they are an easy pass.
I was cautious when approaching Into Sorrow Evermore. I had heard good things about it, but I've heard that before and been burned (Meadows of Nostalgia). I listened to the album a few times on digital casually, nothing stood out good or bad. I found the album recently on sale and figured why not?
The first few tracks on Into Sorrow Evermore are seminal Imperium Dekadenz songs. The riffs are repetitive, the drums plod a long at a middling pace, and the vocals howl over everything. This is exactly what I expected from the album and I was not disappointed. Things started to change though with the third track.
Aurora starts out with a lonely piano tune and it immediately caught my attention. The metal bursts in with a rare energy after. This track is decidedly slower than the first two and channels a sorrow that is worthy of the album title. Somehow on this track the band has tapped into a deeper sense of what it means to be depressive black metal. It's incredible... one of the best songs they have ever written.
Does that mean its a turning point for the album? Sadly no, but yes. The rest of the album goes back to the more typical style for Imperium Dekadenz. While this is hardly a bad thing, the emotional high that was Aurora is never really hit again.
That said, the quality of the songs does seem to go up a few notches after Aurora. The first two tracks seem a bit lifeless in comparison. With a record though that is easily remedied, just skip side A and play the other three sides.
Imperium Dekadenz remains an enigma to me. They are capable of creating some of the most emotive black metal on the planet when they put their minds to it. They just don't do it consistently enough. Here's hoping the next one will tap into the spirit of Aurora for an entire album.
Written December 1st 2023
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