Imminence – 'Axis Mundi' review: metalcore with violin and plenty of feeling
The Swedes' sixth album is out on Sumerian. Metal Hammer Germany awards it five out of seven and sees another milestone.
Photo: Seacactus 13 / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 (cropped and resized)
Single video: YouTube · SUMERIAN · youtube.com
Single: If Not Now, When
Swedish band Imminence released their sixth studio album 'Axis Mundi' on Sumerian Records at the start of October. It follows 'The Black' and contains eleven songs; Drew Fulk produced it together with the band. "Duality has always been at the heart of Imminence," says guitarist Harald Barrett.
Tamara Jungmann gives it five out of seven in Germany's Metal Hammer. The record is no reinvention of the genre, she writes, but surely another milestone for Imminence on the way to becoming a major name in the scene. Unlike its predecessor, 'Axis Mundi' is far less dark and relies above all on emotion. The trademark remains singer Eddie Berg's violin: on its own in the instrumental 'Leviathan', and woven epically into vocals and guitars on 'The Sword That Never Bends' and 'Crestfallen'.
The single 'If Not Now, When', released with a cinematic video, leans on an atmosphere reminiscent of 1990s grunge, with Berg's violin at times taking centre stage. In November and December the band tours North America with Dying Wish and Gaerea.