The New York avant-garde metal outfit made up of Zachary Ezrin, Kenny Grohowski and Steve Blanco is better known as Imperial Triumphant, and their newest song to receive the music video treatment is “Excelsior.” The song was already extremely evocative, and ensuring the visualizer retains the right tone was Blanco himself who sat in the directors’ chair for this endeavor.

The music video plays out like a competition winning short film. It’s as avant-garde as their music is and to that end the real zenith of the work is its relativity to the music that inspired it. Instrumentally the band is firing off on all cylinders with non-stop vicious metal throughout, save for the haunting breakdown. In contrast, the video is paced without correlation, it’s methodical, lonely, jarring and a wee bit neurotic. When the sparse moments of alignment between the two mediums do occur, it says that much more about how these two separate art pieces are forcibly intertwined. While it may seem that way, nothing is inadvertent, and nothing screams Imperial Triumphant better than this new release.

Blanco states, “Many people flock to the big city with golden dreams in their eyes willing to do whatever it takes to succeed, like the ones they see at the top. It is the seal of approval; The medieval crest upon which the very fabric of humanity’s elevation prevails. The failure and losing streak is a deceptive reality that slowly finds its way as diminishing returns, caught up in the illusory system. Ever upwards.”

The video stands upright as a great addition to the mythos of the critically acclaimed and highly praised Alphaville, the band’s third release to date. There are plans to release the album in a cassette format. You can pre-order it here. The deluxe edition will be available in 100 copies in an ultra clear tape shell with metallic gold print and a Norelco case with an additional slipcase. It will also include a 4 panel cover foldout, an embossed Total Dissonance Worship card, a sticker pack and will be signed by each band member.