The Pitch: Symphonic blackened death metal from Night Crowned, ft. members of Dark Funeral and Nightrage, via Noble Demon. FFO: Dimmu Borgir, Dissection, Fleshgod Apocalypse
What I Like: I've limited myself to using the word "epic" to only once per month, but I feel pretty confident using it here. If you're looking for fast and fierce black and death metal with a seriously epic symphonic backdrop, look no further than Impius Viam. Massive strings, piano, and chorals rise to the high benchmark set by Emperor so many years ago. Still skeptical? Try out "Ira." Aside from the impressive wall of layered syths, there's also a broad range of excellent riffage from Gothenburg-y Dissection hooks to the massive hypnotic sway of Dimmu Borgir. And that's just speaking of the guitars. Really all of the instrumentation is highly diverse and dynamic, which becomes important in carrying this nearly hour long runtime. Night Crowned know just when to implement a track like "Black Bone Cross" with its early In Flames acoustic and more morose tone to keep things textured and engaging.
Critiques: Despite the band's overall strong ability to keep each track interesting, I do still feel the album's length when going for a full listen. There's definitely some room to trim fat here and there.
The Verdict: I'm a sucker for a great extreme symphonic album, and this is the best one I've heard in months. Definitely check out Night Crowned and if you're a fan of the genre Impius Viam is worth the buy.
Flight's Fav's: Ira, Your Ending, Your Demise, Your Sacrilegious Flesh
- Review by FlightOfIcarus
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