Worship Metal’s 10 Greatest Albums Of 2018!

4. Imperialist – Cipher

Country: United States
Genre: Black Metal 
Label: Transcending Obscurity Records
Release date: 20th October 2018

Brace yourselves hardy travellers; intergalactic, frost-ravaged black metallers Imperialist were here to redefine your black metal-lovin’ state of mind!

Imperialist aren’t your usual blackened bunch and after moody, semi-ominous, intro “Continuum” launches you into the outer reaches of space, you’d be forgiven for assuming that a Pestilence-esque exercise in progressive death metal awaits.

Instead, Cipher was an album that lived and died by its sinewy, icy riffs, rasped vocals and bitterly melodic black metal bluster.  There was also a little ‘thrashiness’ thrown in for good measure, which only added to the overall flavour of penetrable black metal built on a foundation of appealing songs.

That’s right, songs!

Fucking brilliant songs which never once betrayed black metal’s singular vision but did reach for the stars (metaphorically and literally). Basically, take Vektor (and their themes in particular) and douse liberally with the pioneering work of Dissection and you’ll arrive, happily, at the distant planet occupied by Imperialist.

Take a trip here.