Imperator was one of Poland's first death metal bands. They formed in 1984, just one year after Vader formed. After spending a couple years recording three demo tapes and doing countless shows, they felt the time was right to enter the limelight, so in 1991, they recorded their first full-length, The Time Before Time. Unfortunately, this would be the only full-length they would release.
They originally wanted to release it through Euronymous's label, Deathlike Silence Productions, and Imperator also had these big plans of doing a side project called Moon with Mayhem's own Per Yngve Ohlin. It was gonna be huge. Unfortunately, Per Yngve Ohlin blew his brains out and Imperator was dropped from Deathlike Silence's roster, so they were forced to sign to Nameless Productions, a label notorious for its distribution problems. Not only did the label go bankrupt, but so did the band. They broke up in 1993, two years after the album's release. They tried to get back together in 1995 and 1998, but those attempts were unsuccessful, and Imperator was finally laid to rest in 2000. It's a real shame, because The Time Before Time is a great album.
This album is Possessed worship through and through. It sounds like Slayer, but much harsher. The drums run the gamut from fast and simple blast beats to slow, pounding rhythms that help to build the tension before the vicious assaults begin. I enjoy how prominent the cymbals are, as they add an extra bit of calamity to the music. The snare and bass drum have a great deal of force behind them and feel as though they belong in a demonic hell march. This is an obvious sign that they spent a lot of time fine-tuning the production.
The vocals consist of an extremely harsh shout, much harsher than Possessed but not quite as harsh as Morbid Angel. They're really enjoyable and are a great example of a transitional form between death/thrash and pure-blooded death metal. The guitars sound almost exactly like Slayer. I don't have a problem with that. After all, Slayer is one of the most influential bands in all of metal. Besides, the guitar performance on this album is fantastic. They play a lot of fast rhythms that feel right at home on a fiery battlefield. They're simple, they hit hard, and they show no mercy. They also play plenty of fretboard-destroying solos. If I had listened to this album without knowing anything about it first hand, I would have thought they were performed by Jeff Hannemann and Kerry King.
The Time Before Time is a fantastic old school album filled with Slayer worship and extremely harsh shouts. I can't get enough of it. It's unfortunate that they encountered so much bad luck, because they would have really made a name for themselves. I recommend this to any fan of the old and obscure. I guarantee you'll love it.
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