Immolation’s story goes back to a time when death metal didn’t really exist except as a transitional form between thrash and death. Theirs is a story of a band that has been at the forefront of death metal for more than two decades, a story which narrates not just how the band has evolved during this time but also how the genre has expanded with their immeasurable contributions. And the band continues to shape this narrative with their new album, Kingdom of Conspiracy, with the same inextinguishable energy and rigor (pun intended) that made them take their genre into new territories in the past.
But do not make the mistake of assuming that the band has compromised style for novelty here. This is Immolation through and through, their well-defined style being the pulsating heart of the songwriting. Any exploration and expansion of possibilities occurs mostly with the production value and the general intensity of songs even ignoring the production. I’ve heard numerous complaints about the drum production by some fans who expect the band to continually churn out the same album every time, and the slightest offsetting of any variable leads to their grim upset. But absent such expectations or expectations to instantly fall in love with it, and you’re in for one of heaviest, most brutal and pounding death metal records ever produced.
I was myself skeptical initially when I heard the title of the album and more so when I saw the cover art, what with it resembling science-fiction dystopia, but I have learned through many, many years of experience to not trust my own first impression of a work of art; the number of times I’ve been proven wrong is large enough to discredit it. Eventually, when the band released the title song with lyrics on YouTube, it all made sense: The theme fits the songwriting like a key does a lock. Themes of an Orwellian future taken to its dreadful extreme, of unquestioning submission to authority, and of militaristic control of entire societies are brought to life in a way that only this kind of music – and Immolation in particular – could. I’m usually not one to take most death metal lyrics seriously, nor should one, but here’s an album worthy of meaningful lyrical depth not too common.
There is an increase in the speed and number of fast-paced tracks. Club this speed with loud, ear-splittingly heavy snare drums and torrential blast beats, throw in Ross Dolan’s voice of God, and Vigna’s inimitable guitar chops and solos, and you get songs as intimidating as All That Awaits Us and God Complex. Steve Shalaty has by now proven himself a worthy drum replacement and can bring the teeth of blast beats to song sections that don’t have them, such as 15 seconds into Bound to Order (You’ll know it when you hear it). But it’s not all brutality all the time. Slower songs such as Keep the Silence and The Great Sleep carry a haunting melody that complements the overall atmosphere, mood, and theme of the album.
One of the reasons I fell in love with death metal many years ago was because right from a very young age I’ve had a thing for no-holds-barred, unapologetically violent music. That’s not to say I like brutal music just for the sake of its brutality, nor the gory lyrics; there are countless brutal death metal bands as lacking in shame as in talent doing just that. But when the violent tone is subordinated to quality songwriting, and innovations in sound engineering subordinated to musicianship, out comes a rare album this deserving of praise and preservation.
In an interview with Alex Webster a couple of years ago, he said that unlike thrash metal which died out in the 90s, death metal today is better than it ever was. Kingdom of Conspiracy testifies to the validity of that statement. Kingdom of Conspiracy is the album I’ve been waiting for.
But do not make the mistake of assuming that the band has compromised style for novelty here. This is Immolation through and through, their well-defined style being the pulsating heart of the songwriting. Any exploration and expansion of possibilities occurs mostly with the production value and the general intensity of songs even ignoring the production. I’ve heard numerous complaints about the drum production by some fans who expect the band to continually churn out the same album every time, and the slightest offsetting of any variable leads to their grim upset. But absent such expectations or expectations to instantly fall in love with it, and you’re in for one of heaviest, most brutal and pounding death metal records ever produced.
I was myself skeptical initially when I heard the title of the album and more so when I saw the cover art, what with it resembling science-fiction dystopia, but I have learned through many, many years of experience to not trust my own first impression of a work of art; the number of times I’ve been proven wrong is large enough to discredit it. Eventually, when the band released the title song with lyrics on YouTube, it all made sense: The theme fits the songwriting like a key does a lock. Themes of an Orwellian future taken to its dreadful extreme, of unquestioning submission to authority, and of militaristic control of entire societies are brought to life in a way that only this kind of music – and Immolation in particular – could. I’m usually not one to take most death metal lyrics seriously, nor should one, but here’s an album worthy of meaningful lyrical depth not too common.
There is an increase in the speed and number of fast-paced tracks. Club this speed with loud, ear-splittingly heavy snare drums and torrential blast beats, throw in Ross Dolan’s voice of God, and Vigna’s inimitable guitar chops and solos, and you get songs as intimidating as All That Awaits Us and God Complex. Steve Shalaty has by now proven himself a worthy drum replacement and can bring the teeth of blast beats to song sections that don’t have them, such as 15 seconds into Bound to Order (You’ll know it when you hear it). But it’s not all brutality all the time. Slower songs such as Keep the Silence and The Great Sleep carry a haunting melody that complements the overall atmosphere, mood, and theme of the album.
One of the reasons I fell in love with death metal many years ago was because right from a very young age I’ve had a thing for no-holds-barred, unapologetically violent music. That’s not to say I like brutal music just for the sake of its brutality, nor the gory lyrics; there are countless brutal death metal bands as lacking in shame as in talent doing just that. But when the violent tone is subordinated to quality songwriting, and innovations in sound engineering subordinated to musicianship, out comes a rare album this deserving of praise and preservation.
In an interview with Alex Webster a couple of years ago, he said that unlike thrash metal which died out in the 90s, death metal today is better than it ever was. Kingdom of Conspiracy testifies to the validity of that statement. Kingdom of Conspiracy is the album I’ve been waiting for.
Ey, Sexy. Nice review.
ReplyDeleteNot to come off as a prick now, but I am not that huge of a fan of this new Immolation LP. It's probably because I haven't really been following Metal that much lately because I find most stuff coming out today dull and uninspired. I find it hard to really get something that is mad, abrasive and horrifying these days. I have grown desensitized and bored to what I used to find intriguing and visceral as a kid. I think the scene itself contributed much to that, and I think that, in a way, the Metal thing was already pretty watered down when I got into it (around 2005) - It was already a corpse, fucked over and over again. Some bands fucked the corpse hoping it would make the spectators throw loads of money their way; others fucked it with sour and impotent penises, resulting in weak cum backs. I did swallow some of the cum, because it was my first time tasting it, while I think others sucked a lot of dick back when the penises were truly youthfully loaded and erect. I missed out on that period. Perhaps I missed out on life itself. I've been dwelling like a motherfucker on shit like this for the past 2 years now - I can't tell you how painful it's been. :)
I really dug the latest Deathspell Omega EP, And I think Defeated Sanity said everything there is to say about Gore with their "Chapters of Repugnance" album. Yeah, "Chapters..." was when Brutal Death Metal reached its peak for me, I think. I think DS took it as far as it can go, as far as the savagely perverted side of humanity that plagues us to this day. In a Death Metal context, how do you add anything further?
At this point, I'd rather listen to John Zorn's Moonchild and roll around on the floor naked and vomit all over myself. But also the lamentation and melancholic madness of Deathspell Omega has been with me for 5 years now, yet it has barely been explored. DsO is still feeling true and frightening to me - the trying to consciously understand those layers of my inner self, but also existentialism and all that crap. It taught me to struggle with my illiteracy and the horrors that comes with the awareness of my predicament. It's been a painful process, tearing me inside, sometimes making me pull my skin during screams and convulsions of tears and anguish. It's been hard to find other Metal bands that have had that impact on me. The Hardcore stuff is way too life-affirming - I've been so dark lately that even Powerviolence feels way too optimistic for me right now.
I remember when I discovered Naked City and Painkiller, I looked at the covers and was truly shocked. Those images hunt me still, and I think Leng Tch'e really was the ultimate metaphor for deconstruction in music - the body being cut apart, limbs, torso and head. I think that's when I personally began thinking that the rest that followed was just fucking that corpse. Maybe some bands ate parts of that corpse and disgorged a new flavor of it. I think that there is still parts to be spun in a blender and swallowed, and I hope there will be bands that will regurgitate a new blend of rotten flesh with exotic spices of their own.
Not to be a prick critic of things I do not understand. Opinions suck; I can only express what I perceive, colored as it may be. But this is how I feel right now. I feel like I am in a swamp of desolation where human consciousness is a polluted void.