Imminent Sonic Destruction - Triumphia

On the plus side, I hear this album cover is getting accolades. Sweet.I stand by my statements regarding Imminent Sonic Destruction's debut album, Recurring Themes, a few years ago. That said, Tony and company seemed to have doubled down on the prospect of writing epic progmetal with touches of death and doom in spite of some overly ambitious decisions in the vocals/guitar department. And boy am I glad for that because, while still not quite up to the heights I'm still convinced they're capable of, they've honed their skills yet keener and resulting in Triumphia, their sophomore offering.

Tracks like The Fog and its gothic-tinged opening exemplify the raw power metal bedrock upon which the more progressive, deathy ornamentations are built. Lead singer/guitarist Tony Piccoli is toned down (vocally) on this album while the arrangements have become more impressive, so that's great to hear. But while the solo work seems a bit improved, I'm still longing to hear some great legato phrasing à la Simone Mularoni. That said, there are still some great songs on this album as with its predecessor. The grungy, low-end riffing of The Knife is a great tune that adds a doom-style edge to counter the proggy structures of other parts of the album like Something In The Way's midsection.

The Bottom Line: Imminent Sonic Destruction is making strides towards being a really good progmetal band with interesting elements of other genres thrown in for a different take on the aging genre. With a powerful vocalist and a melodic shredder, I really think this band could take off. In the meantime, it's interesting to watch the evolution.

- Genghis is looking around for Mularoni's phone number...