Brighton, UK masters of brutality Imposter are making a statement with their uniquely sinister brand of hardcore. Today, the band shares their new album, Oblivion Opens, out on Quality Control HQ. Formed in 2017, the band has spent the last several years crafting a crushing sound inspired by the likes of Integrity, Ringworm and Bathory with shades of classic NYHC thrown in for good measure. The new album was recorded in late 2023 with Stanley Gravett at Holy Mountain Studios and mixed by Will Killingsworth (Orchid, Ampere) at Dead Air Studios in MA. Throughout 11 tracks of hellish metallic hardcore, the band creates an atmosphere resplendent with doom and anguish. Early singles “Eulogy of Delusion” and “Funeral March” pulverize listeners with a wall of blast-beats and serpentine riffs, juxtaposed against less overtly heavy moments like instrumental “Barbaric Apparitions of War” – which highlight the band’s ability to blend melody and bleakness together into a chilling whole. The stark production choices stand alongside moments of lush aural indulgence, pulling listeners into a nightmarish and unrelenting sonic landscape.
Each track on the album serves as an examination of deeply personal themes from depression and existential terror to addiction and suicide, pulled directly from vocalist Rory O’Neill’s personal experiences.
“Oblivion Opens’ comes from losing grip on your mortality – it’s primitively terrifying, but life on earth can be much more sickening.” states O’Neill. “I drew the cover art to represent this vision of terror that I faced, based on old depictions of hell by Hieronymous Bosch and Johfra Bosschart.”
Imposter has created a masterwork of Negative Hardcore throughout the tracks that make up Oblivion Opens, turning the unimaginable horrors of life into a succinct and impactful musical statement. Oblivion Opens is available now through Quality Control HQ and can be streamed HERE.
Imposter is Rory O’Neill (vocals), Idris Mirza (guitar), Lucas Burtenshaw (Guitar), Sammy Hellride (bass), and Joe McMahon (drums).
