2023 Retro – I.C.E.

"We are still fucking I.C.E.!" ('Into A Frigid Bleak Infinity')

On their new album's opening track 'Into A Frigid Bleak Infinity', the US Black Metal band IMPERIAL CRYSTALLINE ENTOMBMENT (I.C.E.) unleash a potent war cry and set the stage for ten more ferociously freezing assaults. In the seventh chapter of our ongoing retrospective special, we spotlight the extraordinary comeback of I.C.E.'s via their second album, released in September 2023. Our series also features ANARKHON, BACCHUS, AARA, PESTIFER, ÓREIĐA, and BLUT AUS NORD.

"This is a record and band that show no mercy, and once you're in their clutches, your cries for mercy will go unheeded as you're taken apart and submerged in ice piece by piece." (Meat Mead Metal)

Twenty years after chilling debut "Apocalyptic End In White", IMPERIAL CRYSTALLINE ENTOMBMENT emerged from their ageless sleep, to assault the celestial realms. Second album, "Ancient Glacial Resurgence", merges a relentless array of scorching riffs, raw first wave Black Metal songcraft, the piercing chill of the second wave and the momentum of thrash-infused Death Metal to invoke the ancient astral Anti-God Råvaskieth.

Discover the full album stream here or via our YouTube channel.

In addition, we re-released I.C.E.'s electrifying 2004 debut, "Apocalyptic End In White", on CD and, for the first time, on tape. A maelstrom of intense riffing and unyieldingly aggressive songcraft, the album defies the notion that Black Metal lost its edge in the early 2000s. A true lost classic of the genre which remains influential. Listen here:

I.C.E. offer no year-end favorite albums list, a frivolous pastime for mere mortals. Amidst preparations for their imminent European tour (including a gig on renowned Hellfest 2024), the band only had time to immerse themselves in one work of Art, that of their own mighty frozen breath: "Ancient Glacial Resurgence"!

I.C.E. reflects about the past and upcoming assaults:

"As the year draws to a close we can only reflect on the inevitable end. Everything that has transpired throughout the past year is a fleeting memory lost, much like the future of humanity at the hands of the upcoming frigid death. I.C.E. knows nothing about the futile creations that man wastes their time pursuing. The only creation that matters is the summoning of Råvaskeith through the portals of bleak white light from the astral spaces beyond. The "Ancient Glacial Resurgence", and the rituals that I.C.E. will present this coming year at Hellfest is all that matters.

Let the arctic waves of freezing chaos commence!"

Learn more about the Art of I.C.E. through the in-depth interview with Brad Sanders from Bandcamp Daily!

Both "Apocalyptic End In White" and "Ancient Glacial Resurgence" as well as band merch are available from our EU, US and Bandcamp shops.