From The Velvet Underground to the Ramones, from hardcore to hip-hop, the music most readily associated with New York tends to come wrapped in sidewalk self-mythology. Imperial Triumphant, the golden-masked trio disrupting extreme metal with opulent visions and avant-garde approaches, have little in common with such street-level perspectives – their technicality alone makes them more Juilliard music school than CBGBs. However, the influence of the city, from the traffic to skyscrapers and its aspirational past to the chaotic present, leaves just as much mark on this band’s identity and sound as on their predecessors. It’s less than three minutes into grandiose opener Eye Of Mars before Steve Blanco throws in a bass fill that reminds us that the Big Apple’s jazz scene is a ke...