Imperial Triumphant continue to confound with new single Hotel Sphinx, announce 2025 album Goldstar
Tech-metal enigmas Imperial Triumphant have released a new single and announced their sixth studio album.
The song, Hotel Sphinx, dropped today (November 13) and offers a sneak peek of Goldstar, which is set for release at an as-yet-unspecified date next year. Listen to the mind-warping track and watch the music video below.
The New York power trio offer a typically cryptic explanation of their new song, implying it deals with the relationship between politics and celebrity... or something. "The 'entertainer extraordinaire' leads a gullible audience through the sinister halls of the Hotel Sphinx," they say.
"Behind the lights, cameras, and endless action lies a disturbing undercurrent, where power is fed by the innocence of youth. The lines between entertainment, initiation and exploitation blur as a conspiracy of silence reigns in the 'Illuminated Valley of the Kings', where political celebrity celebrates death. Rites of passage too dark to speak, promising false salvation in a world where the show never ends."
Hotel Sphinx follows the release of the similarly discombobulating single Eye Of Mars, which came out in September . The track listing of Goldstar is yet to be unveiled, but there's a strong chance both songs will show up.
Imperial Triumphant formed in 2005 and have been bashing brain cells together ever since. Singer/guitarist Zachary Ezrin explained their esoteric influences in a 2020 Metal Hammer interview .
"In my college days I had a professor who pushed me into listening to more avant-garde stuff," he said, "whether that was diving into classical stuff or showing me bands like Portal or Einsturzende Neubauten. Just really out-there stuff that I wasn't exposed to."
He also revealed the band's disorienting sound has "cleared a few rooms" here and there. "There's a few people who had their minds blown, and there were a few people who thought we were just pure shit."
Nonetheless, Imperial Triumphant have some star supporters. Their 2020 album Alphaville was co-produced by Mr Bungle guitarist Trey Spruance. Meshuggah drummer Tomas Haake has appeared on some of their songs, as well.
