Welcome back to RAMzine On The Radar, where we shine a heavy spotlight on the brightest emerging forces tearing up the underground music scene.
This week, we are diving deep into the technical groove and relentless thrash intensity of London-based metal outfit Imperium. With their ferocious debut album Exodus Unknown set to drop on 17 July 2026 via Heavy Metal Records, and a highly anticipated return to the hallowed grounds of Bloodstock Open Air on the horizon, the band is firing on all cylinders.
We sat down with bassist Rapha to talk about their origins, writing the record, and dodging kayakers during their latest music video shoot.
Who are you, and where are you from?
Rapha, bassist from Imperium. I’m from Hong Kong originally but now living in London.
How did Imperium come together, and how did you all find each other?
The other lads all already knew each other from school, it started off with Scott and Hardip with Ben and James joining later. I joined last when I was sifting through online ads looking for a metal band to play in. It was all uphill from there.
How would you describe your sound to someone who’s never heard you?
I think someone in another magazine described it best, which is technical groove. Sort of like how when Pantera came out there wasn’t really a term for their style and they eventually got classified as groove metal. It’ll make sense once you check it out.
You wear your influences proudly: Pantera, Metallica, Anthrax. Which records first lit the fuse for you, and how do you take that classic thrash energy and make it your own?
Metallica – Master of Puppets. That intro section in the first track ‘Battery’ just set the tone for the rest of the album. I personally really like what Metallica does with harmonising different parts with the duo guitars, and it’s something I push for when we write new tracks together.
There are some moments of classic thrash energy in our songs, particularly the ones people like to mosh to, and it’s definitely something I’m looking to incorporate more in the writing, but we still try to keep a modern sound to it all and aren’t afraid to try new stuff.
Your debut album Exodus Unknown is out 17 July via Heavy Metal Records. What can you tell us about it and the story behind it?
Exodus Unknown started off as just a new song we were working on during the quiet periods in between gigs. As we started getting it finalised and incorporated into the setlist, we started introducing new songs to work on just to keep at it. Eventually, we ended up with enough songs for an album and started coming up with the funds to record it and made a number of inquiries to labels to assist with the release.
We were very lucky in that one particular person helped us out a lot with getting the funds together for the recording which made this all possible, and for all the hard work done by UK Thrashers in getting us signed with Heavy Metal Records. It all worked out great in the end.
Tell us the story behind the title track, and what it means to you as the record’s centrepiece.
To put it simply, it’s about the collapse of a dying world and the desperate and blind fight for survival across the cosmos. The chaos of humanity and existence if you will, and how we tend to keep destroying what we’ve built and repeating this.
For someone discovering you through this piece, which track should they hit play on first, and why?
It’s hard to choose a favourite, but I would say the first track (‘Hell and High Water’) definitely sets the tone for the rest of the album. We ideally want everyone to listen to each track in the order we’ve set it as it was done purposefully. Otherwise, the title track ‘Exodus Unknown’ pretty much covers a bit of everything in our style.
You’re playing Bloodstock this year. What does that booking mean to you, and what are you planning to bring to that stage?
It is an absolute honour to play Bloodstock again, even playing it just once is like a dream come true. It’s an amalgamation of all the hard work we’ve put in to get better as a band and as songwriters, and it’s an incredible feeling to have been invited back by the organisers. It shows us that we’re on the right path and that the hard work is paying off. It’s been a while since we’ve been on a big stage so we’re planning on really tearing it apart and making the most of it.
What’s the UK thrash and metal underground like right now from where you’re standing?
It’s good to see that it’s still going strong and that there’s still a scene for lesser-known underground bands. We’ve found the scene is actually stronger outside of London surprisingly, but that’s not to say the London scene isn’t improving. It’s still a bit of a challenge to get bigger crowds and more attention to underground bands but we’ve found the Metal 2 the Masses initiative does a great job with this. We were part of that initiative which got us our first gig at Bloodstock and are always recommending the new bands to sign up.
What’s been your best gig so far?
It has to be Bloodstock, hands down. There’s been so many good gigs since but nothing comes close to playing on the Bloodstock stage. Everything that followed before and after too, whether it was checking out all the other bands or mingling with the crowds, was icing on the cake.
Tell us a funny, deep, emotional or tragic story from the band’s time together.
We mostly have lots of funny stories, which is a good thing I guess. There was that time we were recording the music video for ‘Exodus Unknown’—we chose that location because it was relatively empty and had that desolate look to it. Little did we know the small stream behind us was actually a popular area for kayakers and paddleboarders to go through, so we spent a lot of time waiting for them to get out of the shot while filming. I think they enjoyed it to be fair.
What’s next after the album and Bloodstock? More touring, more writing, a second record?
Pretty much all three. We’ve been mostly focusing on nailing the current setlist and pushing the album, but after Bloodstock we’ll all go right back to the drawing board with new songs and concepts to explore. We also want to get more tours organised with some bigger bands and potentially outside of the UK too. We’ll be right back on the grind.
Where can people find you and pick up Exodus Unknown?
You can look us up on Facebook or Instagram, or check out our official website for all the info on how to find us and when we’re next playing. Exodus Unknown will be releasing across all the major platforms so will be easy to find, but be sure to check out our socials for any updates and links.
Anything else you want people to know?
We mostly want to give our fans and listeners just a big thanks for supporting us with all of this. We really couldn’t do any of this without you and it’s the support that keeps us going. Hopefully, the new album kicks ass for you guys.
