Alphaville is the first Imperial Triumphant release I’ve come across, and, when an album is prefaced with a word of advice to do “nothing but listen to the album when you do for the first time” it’s an interesting premise for the experience which may follow. Out on July 31st through Century Media Records, it offers seven original compositions (still clocking in around 50 minutes in length) plus two covers in the fourth release from the expression (founded by guitarist and vocalist Zachary Ilya Ezrin) and marks the second from the established trio from New York in a steadier line-up. With the first 90 anxiety-inducing seconds of “Rotted Futures,” it’s quickly apparent that the listener can do nothing but focus on the sometimes oppressive audio environment of Alphaville, lest they be involun...
