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Imperial Vengeance is a duo from Great Britain who is now presenting their first full-length album At The Going Down Of The Sun. The guys call their music Dark Aristocratic Metal, but others would call it melodic black metal. Mr. Charles Edward-Alexander who is responsible for the vocals, guitars, programming and orchestration is known also as Charles Hedger, a member of Cradle Of Filth touring band.
The opening The Drop is a classic orchestral intro, very dramatic and towards the end atmospheric. They lead over to 6th Airborne Division, a fast symphonic black metal tune with varying vocals. A mix of symphonic black metal, classic influences and a dash melodic death metal. Very cool! At the end they surprise with some fanfare. With an orchestral part they kick off Aristocratic Sex Magick which becomes an fast guitar-driven tune, but they vary a bit in speed and vocally. A black metallic thunderstorm is followed by a mid-paced part and later they give a break with a symphonic passage which let the song fade out. The title track starts slowly and the growls give it a death metal touch, but soon they speed up and head into a symphonic black metal tune. This time they don't storm off, it's more like they sneak around - just to take you by surprise. For example with a melodic guitar solo or a complex, almost progressive passage. At From Childhood's Hour they use a cello which creates a dark atmosphere which is somehow frightening, but also enchanting. And that's it. With Cwn Anwwn they speed of again, but the fast riffs are combined with a bombastic keyboard melody. But Imperial Vengeance use twists and turns - and so they can keep the listeners attention even at songs which are about 7 minutes long. The closer Trinovantes begins with acoustic guitar and soon becomes symphonic, but the acoustic guitar is still dominating. This is the longest tune on At The Going Down Of The Sun, some parts sounds like they've been taken from an opera and combined with metallic riffs. Later they return to acoustic guitar, this time in a different combination. Very atmospheric, but also complex. The keyboard later gives it a touch of the old black & white horror movies - for a moment.
If you like bands like Dimmu Borgir, then give Imperial Vengeance a chance! Fans of symphonic black metal should check out the Brits! I recommend to listen to Aristocratic Sex Magick, coz the 7 minute long track gives a good impression. Or you go to their MySpace and check out the songs they have online.
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