You know what makes many of the old Death Metal bands so special? They all have a very own distinct sound which you recognize after 3 seconds. Immolation is indeed one of them.
This is their 3rd album for Metal Blade but their 4th in total (not counting their ‘Stepping On Angels… Before Dawn’ album). And sometimes I wonder what status Immolation would have these days if they hadn’t been fucked by Roadrunner Records and if their second album didn’t come out 5 years after their debut album. My guess would be that they would be as big as Morbid Angel and Cannibal Corpse.
However, reality is that Immolation still are an insider’s tip, a true cult band for sure. What do they offer us with their new album? The thing which grabs my attention directly after 1 second is the improved production. As you might recall, the production on ‘Failures For Gods’ was not that good, the guitars were way back in the mix. The other difference with that album is that Immolation wrote a bit more straightforward songs for this album. Without of course stagnating. They’ve just added the best ingredients of their previous albums, shaked it (not stirred), and voila, you have ‘Close To A World Below’.
Again 8 songs on this album with again a cover by Andreas Marschall, continuing the cover concept which was started with ‘Dawn Of Possession’. Some of my favorite songs are ‘Father, You’re Not A Father’, ‘Furthest From the Truth’, ‘Unpardonable Sin’, ‘Lost Passion’. My own unpardonable sin is that I’ve never seen them live yet, but I really hope to get that chance very soon.
What more can I say about this unique band? If you don’t know them yet, get to know them. If you don’t want to, then go fuck yourself!
