First things first. I know my dear children of the night are having chills to ask what IATT stands for, so, I will be as magnificent as I can be and say it stands for “I Am The Trireme.” Ok, but now the burning question is what the hell is a trireme. Fear not, my dear children of the night, a trireme is an ancient warship used in the Mediterranean (roughly 5th–4th cent. BCE) characterized by three tiers of oars on each side, with one rower per oar. It was a fast, agile galley primarily used by Greeks, Phoenicians, and Romans as a “torpedo” to destroy enemy ships with a bronze ram. Now another question would be the meaning for the band. Well, it beats me. The band used this name until the 2018 when they changed it to this much more simple version.
Ok, trivialities aside, I strongly advise my dear children of the night to listen to “Etheric Realms of the Night.” I am aware that some subgenres of Metal music may sound a little worn-out, but what IATT do here is wondrous with their personal blend of Jazz, Classical Music, Extreme Metal, and others. Not exactly in this order. Sometimes others come first. In tracks as “To Lie Beneth” the blend is so well-done that it sounds as if it were a kind of twisted Prog Rock band – vocals aside, of course. Including the touches of Classical Music and Jazz and Prog Rock in the infusion. But the thing that amazed me the most was the omnipresent flute, even though, the flute in Metal music always addresses to Black Sabbath like it or not.
When I say Metal music is getting more and more complex I really mean it and bands are always proving me right. From the choice of the album’s theme to the music, Metal music is always surprising the fans and its detractors. “Etheric Realms of the Night” ‘unfolds as a continuous narrative that explores the fragile boundary between sleep and oblivion, consciousness and illusion, life and whatever waits beyond it. Each track of this album functions as a chapter in a larger psychological journey, tracing the stages of descent into the subconscious and the transformations that occur there.’ Alice Cooper must be very proud of his influence on many Metal bands. After all he started all this.
Truth be told, when IATT blend Jazz and Classical Music to their Extreme Metal they are subverting them in their own mysterious and twisted way. It is not difficult to notice this is an Extreme Metal album. A very good one if you ask me. The unsteady drumming of “Drift Away” is still puzzling me as well as the guitar and bass lines. The unexpected jazzy piano of “To Lie Beneath“ deliver some kind of surprise and the guitars have that I have heard this before feeling, but I cannot remember exactly what.
I guess IATT‘s musical signature is not simply their blend, but how they use it. As a matter of fact, they are unexpected. I mean, no one knows when the band will bring it up. That’s the beauty of it. Bottomline, I have to concur with the press release when it says ‘IATT continue refining their balance of brutality, beauty, and narrative depth, standing as one of the more adventurous and forward thinking voices in modern progressive extreme metal.’
IATT “Etheric Realms of the Night” will be released on May 08th via Black Lion Records.
Track Listing:
01. Drift Away
02. To Lie Beneath
03. Somniphobia
04. Pavor Nocturnus
05. Quietus
06. Walk Amongst
07. Hypnos
Watch “To Lie Beneth” official music video here:
I’m just a lucky guy who has chosen metal to live with for a long time. Metal changed my life for good. It made me more confident and stronger. Metalheads are naturally far away from the mass mediocrity and don’t accept impostures from anybody else. Metal is more than music, it’s a life changing oportunity!