Immanifest - Qliphotic (2010) - Bleakest symphonies on a blast beat battlefield - 85% (05/09/11)

I stumbled over this release by pure coincidence as a good friend of mine introduced me to this project and I decided to give the band's first EP a chance. Immanifest are a band from Tampa, Florida that play atmospheric symphonic black metal with many great variations. They remind me a lot of Dimmu Borgir that always get more creative and ambitious and Immanifest already sound pretty much professional, inspired and addicting with the release of their first three tracks.

"Revelations In Darkness" is a very dramatic track that plays a lot with atmospheres and emotions. The song is a slower one which fits the atmosphere and doesn't fall for the stereotypes of the genre. The track has a great diversity. There are growls, shrieks and clean vocal passages. It's an excellent song and only beaten by the album closer.

"Thaumiel" has a great creepy introduction but there are too many fast blast beat passages that disturb the atmospheric flow. The song is a little bit too fast, too overambitious and has too many hectic changes in style in only six minutes to sound healthy to me. The keyboard passages save this track and are really well executed. This song is the weakest one to find on here.

"Among The Dead" is the most orchestral and epic track on the record with stunning choirs, organ sounds and beautiful orchestrations. The track is unpredictable and reserves many surprises but not too many and everything fits extremely well together. Even the guitars and drums vary a lot in here and offer some atmospheric passages which make this track sound extremely well-balanced. This is easily the best song on this little record.

You get everything you can get in this kind of genre in about fifteen minutes even though one is still far from perfection. There are mostly dark atmospheric growls that fit to the music but that are not extremely well executed on the other side and lack some charisma, personality and uniqueness. We hear some shrieks from time to time and a few clean vocal passages that contrast the rather ordinary vocals in a great way.

The record is dominated by keyboard sounds and orchestral passages that create a creepy and credible atmosphere. There some interesting sound samples and experiments from time to time such as chime and bell sounds, almost electronic and progressive passages or Gregorian chants. The sound is well produced and seems promising for an upcoming full length release. The whole presentation of this EP is in fact very well done.

The sad thing is that the orchestral parts bury a little bit the sound of the ordinary and almost inaudible bass and also the guitar itself. Nevertheless, there are a few good riffs and short guitar solos in the songs that add some changes from time to time but they are not as outstanding as the bleak orchestral parts.

The drums could also vary a little bit more and are often just fast and filled with unnecessary blast beats which is one thing I always criticize in the black metal scene. This can disturb the atmosphere of some songs as the orchestrations and vocals are slow and atmospheric while the drums accelerate the rhythm for no apparent reason. This is a sad trend in the genre but I can still hear on this record that the drummer is a good one and could do a much better performance than he actually does.

Overall, this band sounds promising and is a true gem for any fan of Symphonic Metal, Gothic Metal or Black Metal and I am happy that I found my way to this band. I can even detect some Thrash Metal influence shere and there. I will surely keep an eye on their future activities and the release of an entire record that is announced to come out soon.