IMMOLATION

Death Metal • United States

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Immolation is a death metal band from Yonkers, New York. They were formed in 1986 as Rigor Mortis. The name was changed to Immolation in late 1987, between the "Warriors of Doom" demo which was done as Rigor Mortis and "Demo I" which was done as Immolation. The band got a deal with Roadrunner Records and released their debut album Dawn of Possession through them. They were dropped by the label when the label dropped nearly all of the death metal bands. Later, they were picked up by Metal Blade Records and released the three succeeding albums through them. After the second one Here in After, drummer Craig Smilowski left the band and was replaced by Alex Hernandez who immediately boosted the technical proficiency of the band as a whole. The most recent two albums were released by Listenable Records. Unholy Cult saw the departure of guitarist Thomas Wilkinson. And read more...

Thanks to UMUR, bartosso for the updates

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IMMOLATION Online Videos

IMMOLATION - Apostle (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO) online metal music video by IMMOLATION

IMMOLATION - Apostle (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)
Tupan

IMMOLATION - Illumination (Scion A/V) online metal music video by IMMOLATION

IMMOLATION - Illumination (Scion A/V)
bartosso

IMMOLATION - A Glorious Epoch (Scion A/V) online metal music video by IMMOLATION

IMMOLATION - A Glorious Epoch (Scion A/V)
bartosso

Immolation - Of Martyrs And Men (live) online metal music video by IMMOLATION

Immolation - Of Martyrs And Men (live)
UMUR

Immolation - Father, You're Not A Father online metal music video by IMMOLATION

Immolation - Father, You're Not A Father
UMUR

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IMMOLATION Discography

IMMOLATION albums / top albums

IMMOLATION Dawn of Possession album cover

3.83 | 22 ratings

Dawn of Possession
Death Metal 1991

3.70 | 23 ratings

Here in After
Death Metal 1996

IMMOLATION Failures for Gods album cover

3.70 | 17 ratings

Failures for Gods
Death Metal 1999

IMMOLATION Close to a World Below album cover

4.06 | 27 ratings

Close to a World Below
Death Metal 2000

4.09 | 20 ratings

Unholy Cult
Death Metal 2002

3.93 | 14 ratings

Harnessing Ruin
Death Metal 2005

IMMOLATION Shadows in the Light album cover

3.71 | 14 ratings

Shadows in the Light
Death Metal 2007

IMMOLATION Majesty and Decay album cover

3.98 | 20 ratings

Majesty and Decay
Death Metal 2010

IMMOLATION Kingdom Of Conspiracy album cover

4.00 | 15 ratings

Kingdom Of Conspiracy
Death Metal 2013

4.50 | 16 ratings

Atonement
Death Metal 2017

4.56 | 12 ratings

Acts Of God
Death Metal 2022

IMMOLATION EPs & splits

0.00 | 0 ratings

A Day Of Death
Death Metal 1991

IMMOLATION Breaking barriers Vol. 5 album cover

0.00 | 0 ratings

Breaking barriers Vol. 5
Death Metal 1991

4.33 | 3 ratings

Hope and Horror
Death Metal 2007

3.86 | 10 ratings

Providence
Death Metal 2011

IMMOLATION Gathered At The Altar Of Blast album cover

0.00 | 0 ratings

Gathered At The Altar Of Blast
Death Metal 2018

IMMOLATION live albums

IMMOLATION demos, promos, fans club and other releases (no bootlegs)

3.00 | 1 ratings

Demo I
Death Metal 1988

3.00 | 1 ratings

Demo II
Death Metal 1989

IMMOLATION 1994 Promotional Demo album cover

0.00 | 0 ratings

1994 Promotional Demo
Death Metal 1994

IMMOLATION re-issues & compilations

IMMOLATION Stepping on Angels... Before Dawn album cover

2.89 | 5 ratings

Stepping on Angels... Before Dawn
Death Metal 1995

IMMOLATION singles (4)

0.00 | 0 ratings

Immolation
Death Metal 2016

0.00 | 0 ratings

Failures for Gods
Death Metal 2020

0.00 | 0 ratings

Apostle
Death Metal 2020

0.00 | 0 ratings

I Feel Nothing
Death Metal 2021

IMMOLATION movies (DVD, Blu-Ray or VHS)

0.00 | 0 ratings

Bringing Down the World
Death Metal 2004

IMMOLATION Reviews

IMMOLATION Close to a World Below

Album · 2000 · Death Metal

SilentScream213

Dissonant Death Metal is usually not one of my favorite styles… in fact, it’s one of my least favorite styles of Metal. The focus tends to sacrifice riffs, songwriting and memorability in favor of sounding as insane and extreme as they can, pushing boundaries and dancing the line between music and chaotic nonsense. The famous line from Jurassic Park “(they) were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should" is applicable to many bands in the genre. Which, if you like that, fine… but not me. So why is Immolation an exception? Well, the answer is pretty simple; whereas other bands try focus on being weird, novel and avant-garde, Immolation simply try to sound as evil as fucking possible.

The RIFFS on this thing are just mind-blowingly good. Yes, they’re quite dissonant and technical, but more than anything, they are memorable and twisted. They carry MOOD, they craft ATMOSPHERE. Immolation keep one boot planted firmly in OSDM, and even lyrically, it’s all anti-religious infernal hellfire and suffering (as opposed to some of the abstract and cryptic topics other bands in the style are known for). This ensures that, despite the insane technical prowess and borderline chaotic songwriting at times, these are super evil, memorable, riff-driven SONGS, not bizarre experiments into what a musician can achieve if they forgo all musical conventions. Not just the guitars, but the rhythm sections and the vocals are all preforming magnificently, providing interesting and impressive soundscapes that push the bounds of Death Metal while still retaining a sense of pattern and conventional appeal.

And yes in fact, the weakest moments of this album are when they lean a bit more into that Dissodeath style. “Lost Passion” is an example of a song that has a bit too much skronking and weird rhythmic djenty-ness at times, though it’s still a great song simply because the band is that powerful. “Father, You’re Not a Father” on the other hand, stands much more firmly in OSDM, with more controlled songwriting and performance (for this band) and the most memorable riff on the album. It’s also surprisingly sombre, with lyrics that allude to a bit more than simple God-hating. Very dark and powerful song in addition to its insane musical majesty.

Despite enjoying every single one of the band’s previous albums, I am still amazed and blown away at how much I enjoyed this one. Immolation have earned more than just my respect; they’ve earned my awe.

11 days ago
0 comments
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Report #883762

IMMOLATION Failures for Gods

Album · 1999 · Death Metal

SilentScream213

After the incredible Here in After, I was prepared for Failures for Gods to similarly break my spine and send me to a place of misanthropic misery where no god can touch me. I was ready for twisted riffs to fill me with infernal black flames and ravage my soul while the drums mimicked the beatdown of an unworthy god. That triumphant album cover of the devil gazing upon his subjects was the final piece.

Perhaps I expected too much. For somewhere between the two albums, Immolation seems to have lost something key. By rights, the music is expertly played. The drumming is inhuman, the songwriting is interesting, the vocals slay. On its own, it’s a great album. But this is essentially a strong Tech/Dissodeath influenced Death Metal album… not the follow up to one of the greatest albums in that genre ever.

Trying to put my finger on what’s missing here, it’s the memorability. Despite being highly Dissodeath influenced, Here in After featured some incredibly memorable riffs, often repeating their strongest, catchiest riffs multiple times in order for you to latch onto something amidst the brutal chaos, leaving each song memorable and strong. Failures for Gods… just doesn’t have that. I can’t remember a single riff off the album.

And that’s pretty par for the course when it comes to Dissodeath, but it goes to show why Here in After is a whole other breed. Failures for Gods is a great album that is sure to satisfy fans of the genre. But as a follow up to one of the greatest albums by one of the greatest bands in that style, you could call it a… “Failure.”

5 months ago
0 comments
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Report #881238

IMMOLATION Unholy Cult

Album · 2002 · Death Metal

UMUR

"Unholy Cult" is the 5th full-length studio album by US, New York based death metal act Immolation. The album was released through Listenable Records in October 2002. It´s the successor to "Close to a World Below" from 2000 and features one lineup change since the predecessor as guitarist Thomas Wilkinson has been replaced by Bill Taylor.

Stylistically you´ll find very few surprises if you are familiar with the last couple of albums by Immolation. The music style is still pitch black blasphemous/anti-christian themed death metal featuring twisted dissonant riffs, brutal growling vocals, creative drumming, and generally just a very different take on old school death metal. Immolation employ very few "regular" power chords, and they create a rather unpleasant claustrophobic sound. Even among fans of death metal the unconventional riffs and rhythm patterns may be an aquired taste. Sometimes it almost feels like the music is being played backwards and you experience an odd "being sucked into the abyss" feeling.

As a result of how the album is produced "Unholy Cult" is actually one of Immolation´s more "accessible" releases though. While some of the predecessors feature more dense, dark, and murky sound productions, "Unholy Cult" features a sound production where every instrument is audible in the mix at all times. It´s still a raw and brutal sounding production, but sligthly less challenging than what came before. That can´t be said for the actual music though, which is still as technically well played and adventurous as ever.

Immolation are masters of their craft, and one of the few death metal acts with an original sound. It can be argued that "Unholy Cult" is just another album in a very similar style and quality to the last many albums by the band, and that argument would as such be valid enough, but on the other hand there´s also a quality in consistency if you keep producing high quality material, and that is certainly the case when it comes to Immolation. So as mentioned above expect few surprises if you´re familiar with Immolation´s signature sound, but also expect unique sounding old school death metal of the highest caliber. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

1 year ago
0 comments
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Report #853296

IMMOLATION Close to a World Below

Album · 2000 · Death Metal

UMUR

"Close to a World Below" is the 4th full-length studio album by US, New York based death metal act Immolation. The album was released through Metal Blade Records in November 2000 and it´s the third release of a three-album deal with the label. It´s the successor to "Failures for Gods" from 1999 and features the same four-piece lineup who recorded the predecessor.

On "Close to a World Below" Immolation continue to refine their occult/blasphemous themed death metal and it sounds like the natural successor to "Failures for Gods (1999)". Which means in many ways it uses many of the same musical elements and songwriting ideas of the predecessor, but twist them just enough to ensure that the listener can hear the difference between the two albums and feel that there has been development between the two releases. So "Close to a World Below" is an album featuring heavy and twisted dissonant guitar riffs and leads, busy and creative drumming, and the distinct sounding growling vocals by Ross Dolan. It´s not easilly accessible death metal (if such a thing exists) and it can be quite chaotic sounding and does not rely much on catchy riffs or vocal phrases. Immolation are a no compromise type of artist and "Close to a World Below" is another example of that.

The 8 tracks on the 41:51 minutes long album are dense, raw, dark, and brutal death metal (opening with the ultra blasphemous "Higher Coward"). The quality is high throughout but a little more variation between tracks and just a few more catchy/hook laden elements could have made "Close to a World Below" a more inclusive release. Listening to the album you get the feeling that the band have written and recorded the album first and foremost for themselves and secondly for an exclusive set of fans. The more casual death metal audience is left out, but I guess that´s what no compromise means. I actually greatly respect the band for creating exactly what they want without trying to please anyone else. It just makes for a really hard and inaccessible listen.

Immolation are true originals though and they have a clear vision of how they want their music to sound, and "Close to a World Below" is one of the most standout high quality albums in their discography. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

more than 2 years ago
3 comments
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Report #841669

IMMOLATION Acts Of God

Album · 2022 · Death Metal

Nightfly

If there’s one band above all others in the death metal sub-genre you can always rely on to deliver the goods it’s Immolation. Eleven albums in and they’re still showing no signs of running out of steam. An early high point in their career was the highly rated Close To A World Below, regarded by many to be their best album. I’d find it hard to disagree though they have equalled it at least a couple of times since – Majesty and Decay and last album Atonement. Even the rest have not been far off the mark. Acts Of God comes five years after Atonement, the longest we’ve ever had to wait for a new album. I never doubted that it wouldn’t be brilliant and fortunately my faith has been rewarded.

Acts Of God may not contain any surprises – its Immolation just doing what they’re so good at and as long as the songs are great then that’s all I ask and want from them. After the short intro of Abandoned things really kick off with An Act Of God and there’s no mistaking who we’re listening to. All the recognisable Immolation hallmarks are in place – the dissonant guitar riffs from the master of dissonance Robert Vigna, aided by Alex Bouks for the second time. There’s Ross Dolan’s low guttural growl and thundering bass and Steve Shalaty’s constantly shifting rhythmic virtuosity. The sound is a bit sharper this time round which doesn’t mean better as I’m not impartial to a bit of murk, but it does enable each player’s contributions to be clearly heard. Whilst they hit a peak in the second half of the album with a relentless barrage of inventive riffing that never lets up, the first half contains gems like Noose Of Thorns and Shed The Light ensuring the high benchmark the band set themselves is never lowered. Robert Vigna’s prowess with the dissonant riff is well documented but I must mention again Steve Shalaty’s jaw dropping drumming here. He’s long been one of my favourites in the death metal arena but here he seems to have found a new level. He can lay down speedy blastbeats as required but it’s all the twists and turns and syncopated parts and fills he drops in, often on the slower sections, that really catch your attention. At 52 minutes Acts Of God is quite long but such is the quality of these songs it doesn’t feel like it.

Overall Acts Of God is another masterpiece of death metal from Immolation up there with their best albums. An almost perfect album that is currently and very likely to remain my album of the year. The only thing stopping me from giving it the full 5 stars is the first half as a whole doesn’t quite match the second but the difference is very slim. Oh sod it, I'm nitpicking, 5 stars it is, you couldn't really ask for a better album than this and it gets better each time!