Immolation - Close to a World Below (2000)^{Release ID: 644}

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.

Immolation's importance in death metal gets overlooked all too often in my opinion.  The brilliance of their first two records alone has them rooted in the very fabric of all that we have to be thankful of as fans of the genre today.  Although I concede that things have been known to go off the boil (Harnessing Ruin, Shadows in the Light, Majesty and Decay) over the past three decades, in terms of overall consistency there are few bands with such an established fan base and length of service who can compete with the Yonkers horde.

After their slightly patchy third album Failures for Gods, the band returned with a real beast of a follow up in the superb Close to a World Below.  The dank and clammy death metal sound cloyed at your ears with that constant shift and expansion feel to the music giving serpentine like sensibilities to the experience.  Dolan's grim and uninviting vocals reverberate with distaste or all that is considered divine whilst the band layer the hatred on by the spade full.

For just over forty minutes you get ominous and baleful death metal, full of Immolation's trademark dissonant and pinched harmonics alongside complex riffing.  Unapologetic in its attitude and unrelenting in its delivery,  Vigna and Wilkinson add their unique and harrowing bends to proceedings, enhancing the sinister atmosphere whilst Hernandez thunders and thumps his way through complicated and intricate fills as he seemingly effortlessly follows the guitars with his sticks.

In terms of the overall discography, this record is up in the top three for me.  Whilst it may not touch on the timeless classics aspect of the first two records it stands out as an excellent return to form to start the new millennium off with and is just so disquieting in atmosphere and unfaltering in delivery.