Immolation - Close to a World Below

by joseangeles@muchomail.com

Besides the album art being fucking badass, the music is as fucked up too, creating a totally unholy atmosphere. Even more so than a lot of black metal bands I've heard. This would be the soundtrack to the Christian Holocaust if there ever were one. The first thing muttered in this album is "Didn't you say...Jesus was Coming" in such a sarcastic tone. As an atheist, I'm not offended by this (or Christian music for that matter) so that was a hilarious touch to set the anti-religious mood of the CD.

There's solid chaotic drum work, possessed demonic vox, dissonant riffing, odd time signatures, and diabolical hypnotic solos. They got their own tight sound going on, crafting it with superb technical precision and capturing the psychological terror a bible thumper would go through if he was ever caught masturbating to homosexuals. All the songs are a bit too similar sounding at first, but after a couple listens, you could follow the different tempo shifts and listen to the diverse solos to know what track is what. This is a death metal masterpiece and should gain the respect from any metal fan, regardless of what their favorite sub-genre is.

10/10