Immolation has been creating high quality death metal since 1988 with their first full length, “Dawn Of Possession” released in 1991. Ten full length records later, Immolation have stuck to their tried and true formula for their latest metal of death, “Acts Of God“, released February 18, 2022. Let’s discuss.
I have listened to Immolation since 2001-2002, right around “Close To A World Below“. As I listened to them grow I noticed the earlier stuff was a bit on the faster side, traditional OSDM with solid riffs. Through each release I began to hear the progression into what would now be their current sound: pounding death metal and Robert Vigna’s signature and characteristic riffing.
Works Of Cruelty… Acts Of Shame…
Treasonous. Liar. Usurper. Immolation do not hide their spite for God and religion. Every song – every riff is an assault on the lord; laying the wrongs of the world squarely at the feet of God and our lord, Jesus Christ. One of my favorite earlier Immolation songs, Away From God from “Here In After” contains one of my favorite lyrics:
“You couldn’t save me.
You couldn’t save the them.
You couldn’t save the world from misery.”
The cover art for “Acts Of God” features the art of Eliran Kantor (Helloween, Bloodbath, My Dying Bride) depicting angels and the “light” from heaven. Delve deeper into the album and you’ll find God’s light is not so holy and pure as we were taught in Sunday school. Eliran’s brush strokes makes this cover much darker in tone were it done in a different style. Glad to see the use of the original logo; I wasn’t too big a fan of the plain font they used for the majority of their career.
When judgement calls
Will you be absolved?
Will you find your way?
Or be strangled by your faith forever
-Noose Of Thorns (Acts Of GoD)
Your promised light was the only way.
But your path of myths brings darker days
-Shed The light (Acts Of God)
A Small Detour…
Since taking music more critically in the last couple of years, I’ve really begun to pay more attention to production values. Investing in some high quality over-the-ear heads phones and also some decent IEMs, I appreciate albums I’ve long thought of as garbage.
For those new to higher-end audio, I recommend the Sennheiser 450BT, balanced, a noise cancelling feature and its wireless. If you prefer a wired set, the Beyerdynamic DT770 Pros are a solid choice. If you have a few more dollars to spend, go with the Sennheiser HD600. Or if you prefer In Ear Monitors (IEMS), you can’t go wrong with the very budge friendly KZ ZS10 Pro, the best wired ear buds at this price point. I also have the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro, a bit pricy at $200 but decent noise cancelling and balanced sound.
Acts Of Torture… An Act Of God…
Anyway, back to the review. “Act Of God” is once again mixed/mastered by Zack Ohren who is responsible for Immolation’s production since 2010’s “Majesty And Decay”. The drums on “Acts Of God” have a more fuller and “beefier” presence in the mix than an the previous album “Atonement”. For better or worse, I like both. No complaints there.
However, I do believe this has an impact on Ross Dolan‘s bass work, the bass is hard to pick out outside of a few exceptions. The thirteenth track “Let The Darkness In” is an example where the bass can be clearly heard on top of the drums and the track is all the more better for it. This is not to say the overall production is bad, but when I compare the production to it’s predecessors, particularly “Majesty And Decay”, I feel something missing.
The album runs a bit long at 52 minutes – I just checked, it’s also their longest full-length yet. I believe 35 to 45 minutes is the sweet spot for meat and potatoes death metal. The songs individually are not overly long, but I feel the album could have been trimmed a bit; there are 15 tracks, one of which is the album intro and another an interlude before the final track. IMO they should have saved two or three songs for an EP later in the year.
In conclusion…
If you haven’t listened to Immolation before – “Acts Of God” is a great jumping-on point. Don’t let my nitpicking get in the way of a fantastic record. While not offering anything new or going too far outside the realm of familiarity, “Acts Of God” is a testament – hehe – to their brand. Newcomers will get to revel in Immolation’s iconic brand of bombastic, mid-tempo death metal. It’s riff-tastic and groovy!
All being said, “Acts Of God” is a solid effort. It’s still early in the year, so unless there is a sleeper hit coming, this may be an early EOTY pick.
For fans of Incantation, Morbid Angel, Gorguts, Blood Incantation.
You can buy and listen to the album and also follow the band using the links below.
-Eric Reeder 2/20/22
…In Other News…
- HOLY SHIT!!! Gene Hoglan is coming to SDMetal Swapmeet!
- Todd reviews the new Voivod album, “Synchro Anarchy“. Wait, Voivod has a new album?
- What do you want me to review next? Let me know in the comments on Sdmetal Swapmeet Group on Facebook, and/or follow my dumb ass on Twitter @TheIbexMoon. This is a brand new account that I’ll be using a lot more to talk about metal on a daily basis. If this goes well, maybe I’ll get on the Tik Tok…. or the Instagrams. Oh God help me…
FYI
For those asking how I define my rating scale? Here it is:
1 Star: STAY AWAY. Far away.
2 Stars: Major flaws but you gave it a chance. Destined for the bargain bin.
3 Stars: Overall, it’s ok despite some obvious flaws. Fanboys can get enjoyment out of it it but someone who is more critical may have an issue with it. Buy at a discount or while on sale.
4 Stars: Nearly perfect. A must listen and well suited to add to your collection.
5 Stars: BUY IT NOW, no questions asked. I don’t care if you don’t like [insert genre].