“Some albums hit at just the right time, and Imperialist’s debut was right on schedule. In 2018, the year I would personally call the weakest year for metal of my AMG tenure, Cipher was a commanding force of bullshit-negative black metal, and easily one of my most-listened-to records of that year despite its late release. So then… where was it on my list? Ah. Yes. Near the bottom of my honorable mentions, chucked there as an almost-afterthought.” Royal authority.
“I have a tendency to expect too much from my favorite artists. For many, an attachment sparked by a particularly excellent record leads many to lifelong devotion. For me, it results in mounting expectations, which are all too easily extinguished. And extinguished they were by Der Weg einer Freiheit’s Finisterre, at least at first. The band’s stellar Stellar was already a black metal all-timer for me, and the fact that Finisterre dared dampen that album’s epic scope in any way felt like sacrilege. Of course, that feeling changed with time and acceptance; in fact, if I ever get around to writing a Contrite Metal Guy piece, it will be first up to bat for a promotion. Lessons were thus learned, and I dove into Noktvrn with zero expectations and an open heart.” Open heart, frozen veins.
