Artist: Triumph
Country: USA
Label: Black Plague Records / Pagan Fury Records
Format: CD
Year: 2026
Slowly but surely Evan “Immolator” Richardson is building quite a name for himself in the realm of Bestial Black/Death Metal. While not being specifically prolific, the stuff he’s spewing out onto the world with Triumph is of a particularly high standard. What I found most striking with Triumph is that Immolator is obviously not on the way to reinvent or rebrand the genre, but everything he records is an homage to the acclaimed traditions of the Bestial Black/Death Metal aesthetics. ‘Opposing Equality’ is the follow-up to 2022’s ‘Retaliation Warfare’, and again shows a firm step in solidifying Triumph’s name as one of the absolute strongholds of the genre.
Let’s first be clear, that step up doesn’t mean that ‘Opposing Equality’ is offering anything remotely different from what we’ve heard on the previous two albums. What it means is that things are increasingly falling better into place. The riffs are getting heavier, the compositions are getting stronger and the overall production is more crushing than ever before. It sounds heavy, but still sharp as a knife.
In case you’ve run into Triumph for the first time: you are in for a real treat. Triumph uses elements that harks back to the heydays of Black Witchery, Conqueror and especially Revenge with the sharpness of Black Metal and the relentless pummelling of Grindcore. The screaming vocals, quite a bit like Revenge as well, makes you feel out of breath almost the complete running time of the album, but still it is surprisingly dynamic. With quite a bit of interesting drum breaks, rolls and fills it is clear that Immolator is a rather ingenious song writer. The songs, or album as a whole, doesn’t only to slow down every now and then to keep you focused on the music, the songs have enough going to grab you by the throat with no intent to release you any time soon.
For me, this is up there with the utmost best acts in this particular genre. The overwhelming sonic violence that’s embedded in these songs is something quite unique and only rarely found nowadays. In case you’ve been into the aforementioned bands or more contemporary acts such as Primitive Warfare or Vider, this might be just up your alley as well. More than approved!
