Immolation needs no real introduction. The veteran New Yorkers have been going at it since the end of the 80s, giving out some of the more known, heavy, anti-religious and uncompromising death metal tunes out there. It’s one of those bands that seemed to have always been there, comforting the listener by making their earlobes bleed and making audiences happy around the world by smashing their heads against each other.

There’s no real use going over most of what the band put out over the years, so I’ll just jump straight to the conclusion. Even if you almost didn’t listen to Immolation before – Get this album.The band’s 2022 offering is no less than massive. On one hand, it offers more in the formula that we all know and love, but on the other moments it’s much more about kicking some of the boundaries and adding a new spirit on top.

The lengthy intro in the form of “Abandoned” ends after a minute, and the complex “An Act of God” begins like a sucker punch to the jaw, making it clear the band goes in one of the heaviest directions they ever went. The drum work is relentless, as are the flesh-cutting riffs from Alex Bouks and Robert Vigna.

The train of aggression continues with “The Age of No Light,” but it is with songs like the lengthier “Noose of Thorns” that the album really shines through; Interesting rounded song structure that on one hand provides a little more melody, yet on the other hand continues to stack bodies like they’re toasts on a Sunday morning.

A straightforward tune like “Overtures of the Wicked” shows also the other side of the band – purposely crushing anything on its path and turning everything to shreds. Moments like this, alongside complex creations such as “Incineration Procession” makes the album into a gem in Immolation’s history. Brutality continues on in the latter parts of the album, with ultimate neck-breaker “When Halos Burn”, that seems to throw it a hardcore influence or two into the mix, before continuing with the massacre and setting the stage for “Let the Darkness In”, one of the heavier tunes in the album. 

The small, almost-delicate (yeah, I said it) movements between all-out-warfare to all-out-warfare but with a little more technicality behind it, takes the entire album one notch upward and keeps it spinning anew every time it ends. No, I won’t say this is Immolation’s best work up to date, but it has earned its spot somewhere in the top. 

Rating: 8/10
Release Date: February 18 2022
Label: Nuclear Blast Records

Writer: Omer

Tracklist:

1. Abandoned
2. An Act of God
3. The Age of No Light
4. Noose of Thorns
5. Shed the Light
6. Blooded
7. Overture of the Wicked
8. Immoral Stain
9. Incineration Procession
10. Broken Prey
11. Derelict of Spirit
12. When Halos Burn
13. Let the Darkness In
14. And the Flames Wept
15. Apostle