Artist: Immolation
Title: Atonement
Genre: Death Metal
Release Date: 24th February 2017
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Album Review
‘Atonement’ is the 10th album released by New York Death Metal band IMMOLATION and comes five years after their previous album called ‘Kingdom Of Conspiracy’. This is my first exposure to the band and their output so any comparisons to previous work will be obviously non-existent! But to give you an idea of their sound I’d say think MORBID ANGEL and DEICIDE. The overall feel of this album is a fairly positive one. It’s a full on onslaught from start to finish. On the album’s first play I was pottering about doing other things and had it on as background filler. But guitar passages would perk my interest and demand that I stop what I was doing and listen more intently.
Opening track, ‘The Distorting Light’, twangs its way into the groove before giving way to some chugga-chugga riffs accompanied by cheese wire dipped in blood and gore noodling, all of this topped by some open throated and demonic vocals. Midway through second track, ‘When Jackals Come’, has some mesmeric guitar parts that are simply brilliant in my view! Like hands lifting bodies aloft and away from a quaggy gloop underfoot. This has to be one of my favourite tracks on the album along with next track, ‘Fostering The Divide’, which hits the right spot for me! A dirge at the beginning that has my head rocking back and forth in rhythmic nods before morphing into satisfying riffing that has me leaning back, face contorted playing air guitar!
Just past the mid-point we come to the track ‘Lower’ which has interesting guitar riffs giving me the feeling of soaring high over fires whilst the guttural fudgy vocals ominously punched their way through my torso like a sophisticated weapon of war designed to turn my bowels into liquid! And then there was the track ‘Atonement’ that had me slow head-banging my fringe into a mug of coffee. ‘Thrown to the fire’ is one hell of a track weighing me down with imaginary chains and filling my lungs with thick choking black smoke, a sustained note near the end imitates my scream of resignation as I’m consumed by the lick of a thousand flames! The last half of the last track ‘Epiphany’ has some interesting guitar filigrees breaking up the monotony of the first half of the track, when that happens my attention is total.
This is an album that demands your full attention and it requires a fair bit of stamina to get through. And personally I have to be in a certain frame of mind to be able to put up with the onslaught on my eardrums. But when I’m in that certain frame of mind I have the patience to peel back the layers and allow the brilliant guitar work to shine through. I know many people that would have given up on this album after 30 seconds. I say “Don’t do that!” Wait for your moment and give it a go because gems of musicianship will present themselves to your consciousness and you will find those gems popping up in your head and playing themselves out when least expect. In summary I’d say that my first experience of IMMOLATION was a good one that’s peeked my curiosity into exploring earlier work and that can’t be at all bad can it?
Tracklist
01. The Distorting Light
02. When The Jackals Come
03. Fostering The Divide
04. Rise The Heretics
05. Thrown To The Fire
06. Destructive Currents
07. Lower
08. Atonement
09. Above All
10. The Power Of Gods
11. Epiphany
Line-up
Ross Dolan – Vocals / Bass
Robert Vigna – Lead Guitar
Alex Bouks – Rhythm Guitar
Steve Shalaty – Drums
Website
https://www.facebook.com/immolation/
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 8
Sound: 8
Total: 8 / 10
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