The element that Immolation evoke is not fire, but earth. Among death metal bands, their ruggedness is unique. Drums are blunt, guitars carve trenches, and growls proclaim doom. In contrast to death metal’s modern practitioners, who are clinically precise, and its retro revivalists, who are resolutely ham-fisted, Immolation have muscles and flex them. Their attack, though, is gloriously imperfect. Tempos fluctuate organically, and perfect synchronicity is rare. Immolation move mountains, but one boulder at a time.
Appropriately, Majesty and Decay
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Those strokes haven’t been this big in a while. After their classic early outings, their production and material have been up and down. Immolation don’t make bad albums, but on their last few records, some tracks have clearly been stronger than others. That problem is gone now. Every track on Majesty and Decay has those vaunted Bob Vigna riffs, where he puts pick to string and evokes an entire string section sawing through pre-war symphonies. Drummer Steve Shalaty has never played better, with a wicked array of off-kilter, tumbling beats. The sound is bruised and bloody, but unbowed. In the human timeline of continual debasement, it is a flash of dignity.
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THIS is HEAVY! Yeah!
Thats a killer track, im going to have to hunt down that album, it has the same atmosphere of bleak regality as ‘IX Equilibrium’. Can any one recomend what other Immolation is worth checking out?
This kicked ass until the Cookie Monster showed up to sing.
I’m a huge fan of this album. Every song is strong and it’s a thematically harrowing story. I’d love to see it performed in its entirety. Reviewed it over here
@Brooke:
Close to a world below – 2000
Harnessing Ruin – 2005
And
Shadows in the Light – 2007
Would be my recommendations for further exploration of Immolation.
Yo, I love Immolation so fucking much. Brooke, all of their records are worth a listen, but “Close to a World Below” & “Dawn of Possession” are head & shoulders above the rest. If you want things that sound like “IX Equilibrium” though, our tastes are wildly divergent so maybe just listen to all of them and decide for yourself
Brooke: The honest truth is that ALL their albums are worth seeking out…but start with Unholy Cult and Close to a World Below.
@ Brooke: All of their albums are varying degrees of awesome, but I do have a couple of recommendations…
If you want them at their most accessible (and yet still totally unique and powerful), check out “Unholy Cult”
If you want them at their most jagged and innovative (albeit with a murky production), check out “Failures For Gods”
@ Cosmo: Great review of a great album! I think this is their strongest work since “Closer to a World Below”
I snoozed on Immolation; I went from the Florida death bands straight to the Swedish ones. Having seen them live, I went out and purchased just about their entire catalog. That said, I don’t think the new one is my favorite;that would probably be the ‘Dawn of Possession’ or ‘Harnessing Ruin’, but it is absolutely a solid record.
Thanks for the recomendations, I should have just plowed their discog from the start really
I see I’m not alone in being a little lazy seeking out Immolation. The only album I have heard and own is Dawn Of Possession. This definitly makes me want to pick this up and start working through past releases though.
I love their later stuff. This album is great from start to finish and I also liked Harnessing Ruin a lot. I respect they’re early work, but still think they’ve gotten better with the last couple of albums. Perhaps I’m biased because it’s so new, but I think Majesty And Decay may be they’re best work to date.