For The Imperium // Announce tour dates with Devin Townsend

Trying to describe FOR THE IMPERIUM; First you must ditch most conventional subgenres of rock music from the equation. Yet at the same time, there’s probably something from every last one of them on this album. Now c’mon, man, you say. Everything’s been done already. Yeah, I know. Most of the stuff that combines every kind of music an average punter can imagine, is nowadays called ”post-hardcore”. A nice tag to be sure, but it says nothing (except that the ”hardcore” part reveals that the singer can’t really sing).

Well, none of that matters, most of the bands under that banner suck anyway. For The Imperium easily transcends ALL that crap. In fact, comparing any of the post-hardcore bands of today with For The Imperium is like comparing horse manure and mind-altering drugs. While the comparison may be plenty interesting, it sure doesn’t quite work.

Listening to For The Imperium is like watching a master illusionist. From one track to another, the sleight of hand just sort of happens leaving the listener to collect his jaw from the floor. Just when you think the fearsome foursome has shown you their last trick, another rabbit jumps from the hat; another unexpected musical direction, a super-humanly catchy hookline, a baffling instrumental part or one more weird voice from the soundbox of the vocalist whose vocal output seems to out-flex most Olympic female gymnasts. And that’s just half the story. With their unorthodox usage of e.g. acoustic guitars and static, they even take a stab at rewriting the rule book of songwriting.

Just put most of the rock music you’ve ever heard in a blender. Add some of what you’ve never even imagined and spice it up with a crazy level of musicianship and hit the button. Let the mixture stand for a scant 40 minutes and what you’ve got, is greatness. Consume with your ears and prepare to be blown away.

Inane rants aside, with their sophomore effort, FOR THE IMPERIUM presents to you an album with more musical somersaults, hairpin curves and about-turns than the entire history of rock music dating way back to its incubation in the 50’s to the shotgun suicide of grunge before the mid-nineties.

But as perplexing as their sonic output on “Hail the Monsters” once more appears to be, true to the FOR THE IMPERIUM form, somehow the hooks therein get the blood boiling and drive everyone – and their mama – to lose their knickers. If in doubt, check out “Sudden Death” and the delightfully named feel-good dance hit of the summer of 2013, “Filthy Animal, Go and Save Yourself”. Blood or no blood – this, my friends, is the music that gives vampires boners. Ya feel me?