J-Man
The bleak, wooded landscape shown on the cover of Meadows of Nostalgia is a fairly accurate summation of what one should expect from German black metal act Imperium Dekadenz's fourth full length offering; although it is a strongly melancholic and often times abject journey, the album's epic atmospheres always provide the listener with a small glimmer of hope. Meadows of Nostalgia is a very introverted observation for sure, but black metal fans with a liking for the nature-inspired segment of the genre will likely be stunned by what Imperium Dekadenz has to offer.
I've yet to familiarize myself with the earlier material from this German black metal duo, but the music on Meadows of Nostalgia strikes me as a more melancholic, depressive, and epic version of Norwegian black metal acts like Mayhem and Darkthrone without quite diving into the shoegazing of Fen or the dark ambiance of Burzum. Imperium Dekadenz certainly have their own place in the black metal genre, although their music does not sound out of place when put alongside other nature-inspired or Pagan acts like Wolves in the Throne Room or Drudkh. Most of Meadows of Nostalgia is reflective and melodic, yet still lethal by all means, old school black metal, but there are also a handful of acoustic segments like "Durch das Tor" and "Memoria" that keep the album from settling into monotony. Most of the other tracks also have a softer edge as well, particularly "Der Unweg" with its stunning undistorted guitar melodies.
Meadows of Nostalgia's more 'standard' black metal tracks are incredibly epic in structure; this is the sort of music that just keeps building and building, and Imperium Dekadenz manages to convey these climatic atmospheres while still sounding musically sophisticated. Horaz and Vespasian have really put together a phenomenal black metal observation with Meadows of Nostalgia, and I can assure you that this will be something I revisit again the future. Very highly recommended!