Album Type : Full Length
Date Released : 15/3/2013
Label : Season of Mist
Meadows of Nostalgia, album
tracklist :
1. Durch das Tor...
2. Brigobannis
3. Aue der Nostalgie
4. Ave Danuvi
5. Memoria
6. Aura Silvae
7. Der Unweg
8. Striga
9. Tränen des Bacchus
Bio :
Out of the murky depths of the Black Forest
rise IMPERIUM DEKADENZ. The dark
chasms of these steep mountains have witnessed the rise and fall of empires in
bloody battles and glorious history. Celts, Romans and Germanic tribes have
lived and perished in these fog ridden, harsh and yet exquisite landscapes. The
ancient past and lost peoples left lingering feelings of longing and a deep
melancholy, which none have ever captured more intensively than native IMPERIUM DEKADENZ on their fourth
full-length "Meadows of Nostalgia".
German musicians Horaz and Vespasian manage
to enhance and deepen their intricate atmospheric style, which already received
tremendous praise for their previous album "Procella Vadens" (2010).
Although this music evolved out of Norwegian Black Metal, IMPERIUM DEKADENZ soon built their own
sonic realm on majestic structures imbued with fierce darkness, which are
contrasted by melodic interludes and fragile acoustic parts. Founded in the
year 2004, this duo quickly gained a dedicated following with debut album
"…und die Welt ward kalt und leer" (2006).
This album has been described by the band as
a core fusion of two very dissimilar characters, which are still connected
through their mutual penchant for highly emotional yet dark music. Destruction,
loneliness, despair and anger are all clad into sound on "…und die Welt
ward kalt und leer". The album was recorded during the coldest and most
snow plagued winter of the new millennium of 2005/6. Yet despite the harsh
condition, this work was a dream come true for the two protagonists and the
beginning of their deep and lasting friendship.
As the debut had gained immediate acclaim by
critics and fans alike – mainly in Germany but also already beyond their native
borders, the follow-up "Dämmerung der Szenarien" (2007) fell on
already fertile ground. The seeds IMPERIUM
DEKADENZ had sown started to blossom: sound, songwriting, lyrics artwork
and live performance went up by several notches and ensured their final
breakthrough in the German scene. The duo painted their work as a collection of
tableaus in colours of melancholy, epic drama and dark impression.
Having thoroughly shaped their own sound, IMPERIUM DEKADENZ proceeded to climb
on new peaks with "Procella Vadens". This "Wanderer in the
Storm" amazed with ingeniously constructed multi-layered hymns plunged
into the pure passion of ancient wrath and mournful melancholy. As a result the
Germans were not only performing at major festivals of their home country
including the famous Wacken Open Air as well as Summerbreez, but also received
an invitation to the prestigious Inferno Festival in Oslo, Norway. Being one of
the few foreign bands playing at this cult event comes close to a knighting
within the black scene.
As drummer Vespasian and singer Horaz are
sharing all other instrumental duties from guitars to synthesizers in studio, IMPERIUM DEKADENZ enlist the aid of
guitarists Naavl and Kaelt supported by bassist Harvst on stage.
Lyrically IMPERIUM DEKADENZ clad metaphors of human transience, ashes, dust
and shadows into an antique attire with a penchant for the Roman Empire, while
declining to deal with stereotypical political, religious or misanthropic genre
themes. The same obvious intelligence is applied in their complex and
multi-layered compositions, which combined with emotional passion and intuitive
skill turns "Meadows of Nostalgia" into a dark masterpiece. Delve
deep into the secrets and detailed riches of IMPERIUM DEKADENZ. Glory to the new German emperors!
Line Up:
Vespasian: drums, e-guitar, acoustic guitar,
bass, synthesizer
Horaz: vocals, e-guitar, synthesizer
Review:
Imperium Dekadenz hail from, as
they put it, ‘out of the murky depths of the Black Forest.’ The Black Forest,
for the less geographically sound, is in Germany.
Meadows of Nostalgia is the new full
length release from the band. It contains nine songs that ensure you imagine
the harsh, sparse and sinister backdrop from the place that the band comes
from. The album is sung predominantly in German, so if metal albums that are in
foreign languages are not your thing, you may struggle here.
From looking at the album cover,
and the history of the band, you would expect a traditional slice of black
metal from Meadows of Nostalgia, however there are a lot more facets to the
sound of Imperial Dekadenz.
The opening is a short acoustic
led track before the sound of a seemingly unknown being is heard trudging,
invariably, through the Black Forest. The opening gives way to an excellent
track: ‘Brigobannis.’ The track is very epic sounding. Harsh vocals are the
norm, and the tempos change throughout, however the album doesn’t quite hit the
traditional black metal sound until track three commences.
‘Aue der nostalgie’ rips open
with furious drumming and guitars that create a wall of noise. Again though,
tempo changes show a good depth within the sound over its vast ten minute
duration. ‘Ave danuvi’ is an undoubted highlight of the album. The track is
awash (pun intended), with sounds of rivers flowing and haunting, chanted
vocals by a choir. This all backed with some very heavy drumming and crushing
guitars.
A short acoustic interlude gives
a little respite before the album moves on. ‘Aura silvae’ is one of the
heaviest tracks on the album. Harshly screamed vocals and more of the same on
the guitar and drum front, make this a visceral experience on the ears. ‘Der
unweg’ leads off in a more traditional metal style before the vocals again have
you in their grasp. The album closes with two more tracks in the same ilk as
the rest of the album to round of an epic, hour long journey through an
excellent album.
Words by : Dominic Walsh
As ever, show your support to the band by checking them out at the various links and buying their merch. This record is available CD here. Thanks Gunnar @ Season of Mist
HERE IS A TRANSLATION OF THE LYRICS TO ENGLISH:
http://imperium.zxq.net/content/pdf/Imperium-Dekadenz_Meadows-of-Nostalgia_Lyrics_Translated.pdf
