Immolation - Atonement Review
Immolation is the Death Metal musicians Death Metal band. They are the band Eric Rutan, Alex Webster and Karl Sanders all point to for influence. Slipknot’s Mick Thompson has artwork from the bands “Dawn of Possession” album tattooed on his arm for god’s sake. At this moment in time with the rise of bands like Dead Congregation, Blood Incantation, Cruciamentum and the trend of blackened Death Metal Immolation’s influence has never been stronger. This is the perfect time for the band to drop this classic faultless piece of work.
You will be hard pushed to find another band with as consistent quality as Immolation. While their last album was as close as they got to putting out a “by numbers” album. Far from a wet lettuce its main problem was that it followed the modern day masterpiece that was “Majesty and Decay” and let’s face it, most bands at their best don’t come close to Immolation’s worst.
“Atonement” sees the band confident and focused. They are in no rush here. This isn’t an album that is just all out brutality for the sake of it. While it is the case with most Death Metal albums (and Immolation themselves often have done in the past) to attack the listener. “Atonement” doesn’t beat the shit out of you; it more creeps up on you, like a snake stalking its prey. This album is filled with off-time signatures and rhythm’s that don’t always make sense at first but after a few listens will haunt you for ages. Opening track “The distorting light” opens with an odd timed melody backed by a blast beat. The distortion doesn’t quite kick in till a few bars in but throws you off. This is a signal that Immolation are doing this on their terms and you don’t quite know what to expect. Both “When the Jackals Come” and “Fostering the divide” are slow, haunting, hypnotic and morbidly melodic. The solo sections are to die for. Ross Dolan’s vocals are still the deepest and inhuman of the genre, I don’t know how he does it. “Rise of Heretics” halfway through pauses and goes into this dark, twisted little jingly jangly strumming and then just explodes back into the song with the same pattern and it is just majestic. On “Lower” the rhythm of the main riff goes in a loop. It goes back and forth and like a wave it sweeps you up. Again immolation use rhythm like no other band. Robert Vigna’s riffs are the main part but its Steve Shalaty’s drums that are the finishing touch. The whole band is in tune with each other here. All serving the songs with no individual performance taking over.
All in all this band is just perfect. They just understand Death Metal; they just know what they are doing. This is an album that only a band working at their craft for nearly three decades can make. Its constipation reducingly heavy, it dark and deliciously atmospheric, it’s just fucking awesome! The first three albums are classic but “Majesty and Decay” and now this are the bands modern masterpiece’s. It’s early to call album of the year but with Hideous Divinity, Morbid Angel, Father Befouled, Obituary, and Suffocation all releasing albums this year the bar has been set very fucking high!
5/5
