OBSCURITIES – VOLUME XXI: HALLOWEEN & CHILLING RIFFS

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Oct 212025
 

(Daniel Barkasi is back with another monthly collection of carefully chosen obscurities, providing vivid and enthusiastic reviews of six fine albums released in September of this year.)

As I begin to write this in an airport, heading to Pittsburgh on a shockingly delayed flight – helping out the folks with a few things, seeing a great friend who has struggled with some awful health issues (love you, Darren), and the Under Appalachian Skies festival (which has concluded by the time you read this, and it was an incredible time) — it’s dawned on me how wild of a year it’s been, yet it’s gone by so damn fast. Hope everyone is hanging in there best you can!

I wanted to also give my deepest appreciation to those who gave their condolences for our dog Kaiya last month. Those kind words went a long way, and it meant a lot.

Halloween is rapidly approaching, and it’s the season of Reese’s peanut butter pumpkins and good horror flicks. If anyone has any good suggestions, I’m all ears! There’s a ton of Korean films and series that I want to check out, as some of the best productions are coming from there, and have for some time. We also went to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando recently and had a blast! If anyone ever finds themselves in the swamp at this time of year, it’s definitely worth your time. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: IMPERIALIST — “BENEATH THE SANDS OF TITAN”

 Premieres  2 Responses »
Jul 242025
 

(written by Islander)

The California-based black metal band Imperialist have released two albums so far (Cipher and Zenith), and their third one — Prime — is now set for release by Transcending Obscurity Records on September 5th. We’ve been fortunate to host premieres of music from those first two albums, and are fortunate again to premiere a song from the third one today.

Speaking of good fortune, all three of Imperialist‘s albums have featured tremendous cover paintings that connect with the band’s science-fiction themes, Adam Burke having created the first two and Eliran Kantor devoting his tremendous talents to the new one. Kantor‘s two-panel piece reveals a panorama of intricate detail. Its entire expanse creates a daunting alien vision, but it draws the eye in.

Something similar stands out about Imperialist‘s new music: Their songs are crafted with great attention to detail and executed with eye-popping skill, and they also draw the listener in (often from the very first seconds) and then wholly consume attention with their musical visions while creating a viscerally physical response at the same time.

The song we’re premiering today, “Beneath the Sands of Titan“, is an excellent example of these achievements, and it also seems to connect with the album’s cover art because what Eliran Kantor rendered might indeed be a vision of Saturn’s greatest moon — undergoing a catastrophic event. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: IMPERIALIST — “THE MAW”

 Premieres  1 Response »
Sep 232021
 

 

Three years ago we got the chance to premiere a track from Imperialist‘s electrifying debut album Cipher, a sci-fi-themed work that the releasing label (Transcending Obscurity) introduced with references to the traditions of Necrophobic, Dissection, and Sacramentum, with nods to the thrashier dynamics of Aura Noir and Vektor as well. That album caught lots of eyes thanks to the cover art by Adam Burke, and the music opened lots of eyes too.

As you can see, Adam Burke has done it again with the painting emblazoned on the cover of this California band’s forthcoming sophomore full-length, Zenith. And we’re again getting the chance to premiere a song from the new record in advance of its November 26 release by the same Transcending Obscurity Records. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: IMPERIALIST — “BINARY COALESCENCE” (OFFICIAL PLAYTHROUGH)

 Premieres  No Responses »
Jul 232019
 

 

In introducing the music of Imperialist‘s new album Cipher last fall, Transcending Obscurity Records made reference to the traditions of such bands as Necrophobic, Dissection, and Sacramentum, with nods to the thrashier dynamics of Aura Noir and Vektor as well. And while harnessing such dark, savage, and melodically memorable sounds as those names might suggest, Imperialist also created a futuristic, sci-fi-themed concept for Cipher, which is evoked by Adam Burke‘s cover painting.

We had the pleasure of premiering a song from the album in advance of its release on October 20th, and today we get to present a premiere of a different kind — an official playthrough video performed by Imperialist‘s dual guitarists Sergio Soto and Bryant Quinones. For this performance, they chose one of Cipher‘s most electric tracks, “Binary Coalescence“. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: IMPERIALIST — “UMBRA TEMPEST”

 Premieres  2 Responses »
Sep 262018
 

 

Adam Burke strikes again, creating another immediately eye-catching piece of artwork for what turns out to be an equally riveting album. This time, the music comes from the California black metal band Imperialist, whose debut album Cipher will be released by Transcending Obscurity Records on October 20th.

In introducing the music of Imperialist, Transcending Obscurity makes reference to the traditions of such bands as Necrophobic, Dissection, and Sacramentum, with nods to the thrashier dynamics of Aura Noir and Vektor as well. And while harnessing such dark, savage, and melodically memorable sounds as those names might suggest, Imperialist have also created a futuristic, sci-fi-themed concept for Cipher, which is evoked by Adam Burke‘s cover painting.

Several songs from the album have surfaced so far, and today we have another — “Umbra Tempest“. Continue reading »