by joseangeles@muchomail.com
To say Immolation is "just a death metal band” would be a great travesty. They’re more than that. I don't know exactly what I'd label them, they’re something completely new on their own, especially with this CD, which showcases the bands versatility in incorporating catchy melodies and wacky tweaking with their trademark oddly timed brutal dissonance, hypnotic solos, and “gigantic-evil-monster” growls.In earlier releases, the tracks tended to sound too similar, you couldn’t really tell the difference from one track to the next on your first initial listen. But here, as soon as you hear it, every track has its own distinct quality, be it a dark brooding atmosphere or an epic war-torn imperial sound. In a couple songs they even go real gentle or slow things down for a moment with relaxing guitar plucks.
Musically and lyrically, this is their most mature release to date. They don’t spend too much time ripping on Christianity like they did with every other album they ever did. Society and personal struggles are the themes explored. The most radical thing they’re doing here now is the whispered vocals. It’s only in like 2 songs for a couple seconds though, not too abundant. I didn’t mind it at all; in fact it really brought even more diversity into their sound. Maybe they could have put clean signing, but then I just can’t picture that going along with their signature uncompromising crushing vibe.
9.1/10