Review by UnhinderedbyTalent for Immolation - Dawn of Possession (1991)

Although not part of my regular death metal menu back in the late 80's and early 90's, Immolation are now a band that I class as being in the highest echelons of death metal royalty.  I struggle to find many bands within this most extreme of genres that can maintain a presence for over thirty years and are still to this day capable of delivering relevant if not all that expansive death metal.  With me having coming to the Immolation party late there are a few years of catching up to do still and having come round to their last offering it is clear to see that the guys have lost none of the urgency and menace of their debut offering over all those years.

I bagged a limited edition repress of Dawn of Possession on gold vinyl this past week and I really cannot think of a better colour to represent the standard of death metal on offer over these ten tracks.  Comparable most definitely with Morbid Angel only less sonically driven, Immolation carved a niche in death metal with scathing intensity, laser-fire leads and cavernous vocals that chilled to the bone.  That now trademark shifting and abrupt riffing style that manages to stay on the right side of lurching without becoming floundering or simply butt-fuck ugly, is here in its raw glory at the very start of the establishment of that Immolation sound.  Smilowski's drums seem to be rooted in the very earth around them on here and the mix job to allow them so much presence without ever dominating the soundscape is credit to Harris Johns.

The pairing of Vigna and Wilkinson is a devastating dual attack to contend with.  I can sort of forgive the lack of obvious lead work that is paired back to these short bursts of sonic chaos as they complement the blistering pace superbly throughout and I can only surmise that to drop lengthy, shredding solos in here would disrupt the flow way too much.  Those stabs on the end of riffs are enough compensation in the grander scheme of things anyways.

At the front of everything, the monster that is Ross Dolan growls and rumbles away like some high commander of all the seemingly unstoppable demons that adorn the album cover.  His presence is very much the overarching experience for me that I take away from any listen through of Dawn of Possession.  Like the drums, they contribute massively to the success of the album but they rightfully dominate proceedings for me, underlining all that is ghastly about extreme music perfectly.  Immolation's debut is so important because it not only kept to the playbook on extremity but allowed individual musicianship to shine also, which in turn gave Immolation identity in a rapidly expanding genre and that uniqueness remains with them to this day.