This video drum play-through is Kenny Grohowski playing Cosmopolis, from Imperial Triumphant. A few words from Kenny: “Cosmopolis is one of the group composed songs where the initial idea was brought in by Ilya (Zachary), but eventually the song took many turns and revisions. New ideas and obtuse ideas interjected themselves into the song and in many ways, this became our most “spastic” song, compositionally speaking. From the Jazz ballad intro, into the Verse-which has a descending septuplet line that speeds up in tempo into a hemiola-, preceded by some death metal, some thrash metal, a swing blast, and finally ending with some more modern, vamp-based Jazz ala late 60’s Miles et al. Easily, our most all over the place tune, and thusly requires drumming that can capture many different moods from section to section with authenticity and authority, but leaving room to interpret and stretch as necessary. This song is more an exercise in musical interpretation, in phrasing, and playing with the time to make things breathe and swell over time and space but remain heavy. The goal is to encapsulate the very manic nature of NYC. Personally, the goal is to keep as limber and free-flowing in the limbs as often as possible, which can be seen towards the end of the tune.”
“My tenure with Imperial Triumphant began back when we worked on the Goliath EP, initially as a guest artist, but later on becoming a full-time member. At that time, I had been working with (to keep it short) Secret Chiefs 3, Dapp Theory, and John Zorn in various projects, one of which is an organ trio featuring John Medeski (Medeski Martin & Wood) and guitarist Matt Hollenberg (Cleric, John Frum, Shardik). The more Ilya and I worked together, at the time with Pyrrhon Bassist/Vocalist Erik Malave, the closer to the project I became, but it wouldn’t be until Vile Luxury where we would finally collaborate as composers, songwriters, and on the production side of things.”
“As you will see in the video, I’m using a fairly standard setup which is slightly varied from the studio setup.”
Kenny’s Gear:
Yamaha Recording Custom Drums (‘89):
12” Rack Tom
16” Floor Tom
06” x 14” Pearl Dennis Chambers Signature Snare Drum
22” Bass Drum
Cymbals:
18” Turk China
14” Turk Hi-Hats
22” Master Series Ride
21” Special3 Ride
14” Gold Hi-Hats
20” (Paiste) Master China
20” Gold Series Ride
I happily endorse Bosphorus Cymbals.
Upcoming 2018 Tour Dates:
8/15 – Brooklyn, NY with Batushka
8/17 – Chicago, IL with Batushka
9/15 – Shadow Woods Metal Fest, White Hall, MD
Blood Sand Ash Tour with UADA, Panzerfaust, Bane
9/19 – Riot Room – Kansas City, MO*
9/20 – Fubar – St. Lous, MO*
9/22 – The Windup Space – Baltimore, MD – Shadow Woods Fest (Post-Mortum)
9/24 – Gramps – Miami, FL
9/25 – Brass Mug – Tampa, FL
9/26 – Will’s Pub – Orlando, FL
9/27 – The Earl – Atlanta, GA
9/29 – Barracuda – Austin, TX – Red River Family Fest III
9/30 – Double Wide – Dallas, TX
10/1 – Growlers – Memphis, TN
10/2 – The End – Nashville, TN
10/3 – The Green Lantern – Lexington, KY
10/4 – Smiling Moose – Pittsburgh, PA**
10/5 – The Kingsland – Brooklyn, NY**
10/6 – Kung Fu Necktie – Philadelphia, PA**
10/9 – Pittsfield, ME – House of Doom**
10/10 – The Jewel – Manchester, NH**
10/11 – Mid East Up – Boston, MA**
10/12 – H Restaurant Bar Club – Silver Spring, MD – Satan’s Unholy Abomination Fest VI**
10/13 – The Shrunken Head – Columbus, OH**
10/14 – Black Circle Brewing – Indianapolis, IN**
10/15 – Reggies – Chicago, IL**
10/16 – Lager House – Detroit, MI**
10/17 – The Foundry – Lakewood, OH**
10/18 – Bugjar – Rochester, NY**
10/19 – Montreal, Quebec, CA – Quebec Deathfest
*UADA only **with Bane
Album info:
Imperial Triumphant
Vile Luxury
Release date: July 13, 2018
Labels
Gilead Media (US)
http://gileadmedia.net/collections/pre-orders
Throat Ruiner (EU)
http://deathwishinc.eu/collections/throatruiner-records
New York’s nebulous, avant-garde metal outfit Imperial Triumphant redefine sonic darkness on their ambitious new album, “Vile Luxury”. A turbulent, frenetic take on experimental noise and progressive black metal, Imperial Triumphant embody the most austere side of the New York underground. Chaos, menagerie, and the perils of the city clash with its reputation for majesty and extravagance. The band aims to portray the juxtaposition between high society and urban decay. “Our city is like the corpse of a giant.” The band explains. “What was once so bright, grand and spectacular, is now filled with greedy maggots writhing towards their share of ‘success’. We don’t support it nor are we against. We only play the sounds of the New York City as we hear them.”
“Vile Luxury” combines the various musical elements that follow well within the tradition of music in New York, a monolith of the Western world, of constant experimentation and appropriation of all things that enter it, never leaving the same as it came.
Band Members:
Zachary Ilya Ezrin – Lead Vocals, Guitars
Kenny Grohowski (Secret Chiefs 3, John Zorn, Brand X) – Drums
Steve Blanco – Bass, Vocals
Guests:
Will Smith (Artificial Brain) – Vocals on ‘Gotham Luxe’
Yoshiko Oharaz (Bloody Panda) – Vocals on ‘Chernobyl Blues’, ‘Luxury in Death’ and ‘The Filth’
Andromeda Anarchia (Dark Matters) – Vocals on ‘The Filth’
Sarai Chrzanowski – Vocals on ‘Lower World’
Recording notes:
Recorded live in New York City at Menegroth, the thousand caves. Engineered, mixed and mastered by Colin Marston.
Official Band Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/imperialtriumphant
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imperialtriumphant
*Promotional photo: Alex Krause
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