Impending Triumph – Impending Triumph (Jawbreaker Records)
Monday, 1st May 2023
Months of seclusion led to the start of a traditional, epic heavy metal band for Impending Triumph. A musical duo with experience across black, doom, progressive, and experimental heavy styles, the goal for this self-titled EP comes from a pure, passionate place – incorporating many established influences from the old school scene best known for their unwavering resolve to the cause. Combining a fantasy fictional story of Puritania, an empress claiming to be a true defender of liberty yet disguised as a tyrant with musical parts that march in tempos or riffs rich in the horizons of the 80’s, you have the makings of tracks that champion mutual audience to band exchanges as we all become one with the spirit of metal penetrating all senses.
Remember the early days of US and European acts who took aspects of punk and hard rock into NWOBHM, then evolved from there across power/speed lines? That’s what you can expect throughout the four main songs in terms of the glorious riffing, gang-like choruses, culturally-laced blitzkrieg lead breaks, and epic main vocal melodies put forth. The uplifting main rhythms to “Armies of the Conqueror” combine the early mid-tempo crunch of Accept with the loincloth/steel nature to Manowar, while the faster “Dragon Hunt” shifts between heads down speed action a la Running Wild or early Helloween plus bringing in some aspects of classic Heathen, especially when choosing to integrate thoughtful axe breaks that mirror the feel/attitude of the arrangement. Closer “Temple of Oblivion” is the longest track at eight minutes – the opening moments giving off a Grim Reaper vibe, some of the vocals from Francois Blanc hitting those bird call highs while the narrative sequence and building momentum throughout the instrumental sequence between guitars and drums elevating anticipation for the next transition. Even the production values and cover art convey that epic, haunting atmosphere that took this style to ‘triumphant’ measures from early to mid-1980’s.
Much like artists such as Atlantean Kodex, Eternal Champion, or Megaton Sword, Impending Triumph positions themselves in that creative niche that pays homage to a specific era or style while also maintaining a level of integrity that doesn’t completely cut, paste, copy, and recycle what already exists. Already hard at work on a full-length follow-up, this self-titled EP is a great debut that will garner plenty of acclaim from the global epic heavy metal community.
