Tuesday, 29 March 2016

Dark Music Review – Imposing Elitism

Dark Music Review – Imposing Elitism

Review Written By Casey Douglass

 
Imposing Elitism Album Art

A new dawn rises as the broken ground trembles under the resounding echoes of an army… “Imposing Elitism” marks a turning point – what was once cold hard stone has now turned into raw steel! The awe-inspiring figure that is ARDITI has never been stronger or more relentless, and continues to cast an ever-harsher tone to their Martial Neo-Classical Industrial on their sixth full-length release. By reaching further into Man’s collecting past to harvest memories of a golden age of heroes, ARDITI tap into the source of ancient blood that will fuel the impending march to the new Era.

Arditi are a Swedish band that falls into the martial industrial and neo-classical genres, so think military as inspiration, but with classical elements and dark ambient undertones. Imposing Elitism is their sixth album and my first taste of their sound so we will see if this particular genre is something that sinks its bayonet into me, or just leaves me whistling as I walk away from the battlefield.

As might be imagined with the label of martial industrial music, there is a lot of military-style drumming in these tracks; probably the music's defining feature for me. The next most noticeable aspect is that many of the tracks feature the audio of war-like speeches that talk over or at times, behind the other sounds. These two elements alone bring the images of marching armies of all kinds to mind, depending on the other flavours in the track in question.

I think my favourite track has to be Order of the Black Sun. It begins with the crash of a drum-like sound that is soon backed by a sinister undertone chant. It’s a rumbling brooding track with an air of something evil going on, like the gates of some dark castle swinging open and an army cloaked in shadow marching forth. Just my kind of thing.

Another track that I enjoyed was The Earth Shall Tremble Under The Tramp of Our Feet, almost purely for the repeating, grindy melody that manages to ear-worm its way into my head. The track also has a great rattling drumbeat, swells of singing and a dark tone which again, is something I enjoyed.

I enjoyed the time I spent listening to Imposing Elitism, but I’m not entirely sure it is a style of music that I will listen to regularly. It is however, a great backing soundtrack to playing a war or fighting based video-game, or for drifting away imagining you are in one of the 300 films. I give Imposing Elitism 4/5 and recommend it to anyone that enjoys the martial aspect of history or has interests that would gel nicely with its theme.

You can visit the Imposing Elitism page on Bandcamp at this link. You can also check out the video trailer for the album by watching the YouTube video embedded below.


I was given a free copy of this album to review.

Album Title: Imposing Elitism
Artist: Arditi
Label : Equilibrium Music
Released: September 14, 2015