IMPERIUM was released in 1987, shortly after the DAWN album. If DAWN is the group's nearly last entry in a series of post-industrial, apocalyptic recordings where effects, chants, occultism and fiery narrations and screams blend together in a unique output, IMPERIUM is built exactly in the turning point of the band's sound. The "Happy Birthday Pigface Christus" single had already been released and was the first attempt at the acoustic guitar- neofolk path, even at a harder rough approach, and IMPERIUM, whereas not at all "neofolk", combines imposing elements of their early sound with a melancholy and a sequence of melodies that foresaw into the band's following releases.

IMPERIUM is one of Current's most depressive albums. According to close-to-Tibet information, it was recorded and released at a time when David faced health problems and possibly death. John Balance contributes, and there is a list of guest musicians, Hilmar Orn Hilmarsson on keyboards, with whom Tibet would eventually release in the early 90s the masterpiece ISLAND, Tony Wakeford and Douglas Pearce on bass-keyboards and guitar respectively (Tibet himself had appeared in the "Come before christ and murder love" single).

The first side of the album contains the four "Imperium" songs-- like a conceptual saga of different approaches, but a main theme: the futility of life, the unavoidable bleak ending, the circle that begins with birth and ends with the deathly destruction. "all meetings end in separation"..."the very end of life is death"...as all ripe fruit always falls and rots, so all who are born are by their death destroyed"..and a careful look at Tibet's lyrics points directly to his own, forced-fed dealing with death and the very important questions of life and mankind. So, from that point of view, the album maintains the philosophical aspect that all early-mid 1980s Current 93 recordings offered, but instead of focusing on the -end-of-the-world images or the religious canvas of mysticism and legend, here the philosophy is much more on a personal level, on the horrors each man has to face as long as (s)he realizes the inevitable of death, how easy it is for life to be torn apart, how sudden and without apparent reason. In this viewpoint, it is natural that there is a really nihilist feeling, at points utterly shivering.

The first "Imperium" song unfolds with Tibet's soul-crushing whispers, that seem to drag on forever, filled with echo and a powerful performance that sets the mood straight at once. In the background, various threatening sounds--like outtakes off DOGS BLOOD RISING mix with flute and other more delicate melodies to create a very unsettling soundscape but which haunts the listener and draws him closer with every second. Lyrically, the issues of life and death are dealt in raw and realistic fashion: no illusions, no salvation. "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.." is the ironic opener.

The second "Imperium" is downright depressing and possibly one of the most melancholic C93 songs ever. Built on an acoustic guitar and other, more discreet arrangements, Tibet sings in a surprisingly sentimental and direct manner, his vocals still distant and echoed, as if he is hidden somewhere in the back of the studio, his voice fragile, broken, but so effective. Excellent!

The third "Imperium" shifts suddenly back to the menacing, nightmarish mood of DOGS BLOOD RISING (one of music's most difficult, impenetrable records ever, really!). Opening with what sounds like an eastern priest singing and various distorted, heavy-processed voices/mumbles in the background, the set is already disturbing enough for Tibet to resume his narration where he'd left off in "Falling back in fields of rape": the fields of rape, death, futility, misery, nihilism are parts of the narration, here adopting an agressive, nearly misanthropic view, with reverb on the vocals where Tibet raises his tone properly adjusted for maximum effect, as if he speaks in a huge room, like a mad priest, or a lunatic dictator. Excellent again!

The shorter "Imperium IV" which ends the saga and the first side of the album as well is totally different, built mostly on acoustic guitar. There is something very frightening with the way Tibet sings: as if he is nearly happy, like someone who is so desperate that he eventually got mad and now he sings carefree in his salvaging lunacy. The blurred lyrics about christ and his death simply enhance the mood and may lead to many different conclusions about what he really meant...

The second side is also four tracks that combined together form the phrase "Be locust or alone"(!). "Be" is very short, hardly reaching 60 seconds, with Douglas' acoustic chords again and Tibet singing mockingly over a child's voice which babbles. Happy-mad again, although here is a slight hint of how Tibet would use, ten years later, children's voices as scary effects, in the ALL THE PRETTY LITTLE HORSIES. And thats about that.

"Locust" ticks up to ten minutes. Opening with a kick loop and a bass line, it also features guitar chords, repetitive and droning, around which David launches a lengthy set of lyrics that begins from reciting nostalgia and referring to the "locust summers" and the "locust years" blending narration with gentle, sweet singing, gradually building the tension as his voice slowly but steadily becomes a bit more agressive and then slightly angry, only to lead in a furious, demented, chaotic outburst of rage and black despair towards the end, as the ever-circling bass-guitar-drum machine sound is enriched by ominous, cold synthesizers that build up and take the full force as David raises his voice towards the abrupt ending.

"Or" is like the sequel of "Imperium III". Apocalyptic and mystical, with Tibet's monologue of quoting biblical images of chaos and destruction setting distant keyboard loops in the far back of the mix, then drums pounding suddenly, a snare hit each 20 seconds, then speeding up, as the keyboard effects increase as well, leading to a frenazy somewhere around the seventh minute, a chaos of pounding drums, screams, narration and electronic effects buzzing like disturbing drones. Chaotic and excellent (I've said that before, havent I?).

"Alone" is much more melancholic, a different approach and a nice way to end the album. It is built on a nicely constructed bass melody and synthesizers, that are slowly looped, creating something like a dreamy trance, a circling illusion of sounds mixing with Tibet's melancholic, final narration, ending the album in a great manner, as it began.

The CD reissue by Durtro offers a bonus song entitled "Time stands still". The original CD issue by Durtro again offered the song (in a slightly modified, 15 seconds shorter version) along a bonus track that features a short monologue of Tibet. "Time stands still" was included in the Japanese magazine Augenblick. It is a much more restrained song, with powerful, imposing keyboards and various effects over a mid tempo processed percussion/drum machine over which Tibet sends his lethal arrows. It is in the mood of the album, yet much more accessible and direct.

I like IMPERIUM for the same reason I adore ISLAND: its arrangements, its variation of sounds and effects, the great mood, the imposing performances. Of course ISLAND was a unique experimentation, whereas IMPERIUM is the bridge between DAWN and the band's early sound and SWASTIGAS FOR NODDY and the band's later sound. It is of course, as it has been made evident, a lot more than that. It is, with no exaggaration, a rare moment of a philosophical outlook on life and death, with all the essential excellence in the music sector. It may not be that easy to find the album or to penetrate its lengthy narrations of despair and sadness, but once done so, you will glimpse at soundscapes which are impossible to resist or forget.

"The road seems long for those exhausted"...