A largely improvised statement of furious and minimalistic black metal, Imperial Cult's debut LP ‘Spasm of Light’ was recorded live in 2017 as a single, thirty minute-plus long trance-inducing movement of embodied chaos designed to dismantle the psyche. The phantasmal vocals, combined with the repetitive intensity of the music, create an impenetrable fortress casting its spectral shadow unto a scorched and barren wasteland.
Netherlands' Imperial Cult creates black metal drone trance whose sonic framework many attentive listeners will not fail to stylistically trace back to a band like Fell Voices. Its sound is constructed on repetitive, cyclical, and vorticose cyclones of furious raw black immersed in a storming haze of decaying ambient-noise that defies logic and sanity.
The three members involved in the project are key figures in the Dutch extreme/experimental underground, and are active in bands like Turia, Nusquama, Cryptae, Lubbert Das, Horrid Apparition, Dead Neanderthals, Solar Temple, Heavy Natural, Iskandr, Celestial Bodies, and DungeönHammer as well as tied in with the label Haeresis Noviomagi. Thematically, Imperial Cult is a reconnaissance of an inherited culture of physical violence and material exploitation. Marching towards self destruction, we must understand the inevitability of violence and quenchless nature of bloodshed. Imperial Cult refers to ancient forms of divine worship of emperors as deities, and the cognate contemporary worship of those who will ultimately destroy us. It is a call to power, to reclaim the sacrificial logic which enables our ruination.
supported by 14 fans who also own “Imperial Cult - Spasm of Light”
My absolutely favourite black metal album. Hardly a day goes by that I don't listen to it. The screaming of T. is so furious and destructive. The melodies of O. always cast a spell over me. And what grabs me the most is the drumming of J. which is extremely well mixed and really bangs. I hope there will be another album soon!
It's hard to say which track is the best, but for me the album is a complete work of art! Crystal Rites
supported by 14 fans who also own “Imperial Cult - Spasm of Light”
thanks Fluisteraars! I just love your music. A very good atmosphérique black metal band with experimental/ ambient passage. This album is literally one of my classics in my black metal journey.
The first time I heard this record, I feel scared and no other album make me feel that. Just, I feel like it's probably my favourite black metal album of all time. Continue in that way ! quentin_milcent
The metal’s band revelatory new record crosses genres and styles, effortlessly combining seemingly incompatible subgenres. Bandcamp Album of the Day Apr 26, 2024