Too specialized to adapt to endless pursuit of growth, too hungered for resources to see their end coming, too blinded by division to see the powers that be much less demolish their control, too disengaged from the biosphere to see it failing in real-time, and already engaging in waves of mass-death via catastrophic weather and pandemia… all signs point to assured extinction of hubris-prone mankind at present. In pulling from ‘ready apparent world downfall, apocryphal prophecies, and their own ~four decade built endurance Yonkers, New York-based death metal quartet IMMOLATION signal the end of days as immediate and observable here on their thrillingly characteristic twelfth full-length album. ‘Descent‘ offers a vision of Hell on Earth which accosts all that it illustrates, stamping down upon the failures of civilization with long-held disdain for cult(s) of mind and systems of unchecked control. Beyond the themes on offer they’ve crafted yet another fine death metal release in signature style, a familiar and steeling record which admittedly fits the mold they’d carved long ago but what a glorious mold it is.

Immolation formed as a quartet back in 1988 by way of a couple folks from death/thrash metal group Rigor Mortis (not the Texans) and co. where they’d established an enduring trio that’d stuck around for the bulk of their “legacy” releases. Early efforts helped to define the primacy of death metal as a movement while also establishing unique voice between harried, irregular grooves and signature harmonic dissonance. Their first five or so major releases are rightfully hailed as original and broadly influential to extreme metal as a whole. As detailed per my chopped-ass review of ‘Acts of God‘ (2022) I’d first encountered the band as a suggested alternative to ‘Altars of Madness‘ circa 1992 wherein a borrowed copy of ‘Dawn of Possession‘ (alongside ‘The Karelian Isthmus‘) would provide a key and still-enduring standard of pure death metal from my perspective. I’ve been a fan since then, ultimately counting ‘Close to a World Below‘ (2000) as the true masterpiece amongst their most vital pre-2007 gear.

What happened beyond 2007? A practical shift toward sustainability, iteration which some fans view as decline. The pursuit of high-fidelity recordings, a modernization of their methods via an enduring relationship with engineer/producer Zack Ohren for each mix/master beyond that point, generally homogenized away the often unique ‘underground’ feeling of prior Immolation production values ensuring that their 2010’s output bled together profusely. No standards were lost, live performances generally improved over the course, but the songcraft dealt less of the catchier and clever threads sewn into prior releases in favor of familiar iteration. There are two schools of thought in response: Some hold onto the idea that a new explosive revelation within their foundation is possible, others are happy that the band exists at all as they uphold unfaltering standards for signature craft and world class performance. I’d argue in both directions at once given the chance.

As Immolation creep toward completing their fourth decade in alignment their discography becomes increasingly self-referential as they mine their own idiosyncratic phrasal/rhythmic language for signature movement and atmosphere. ‘Atonement‘ (2022) for example pulled back toward organic sound design a bit, leaning into the slithering lunge of their transition into the new millennium via ‘Unholy Cult‘ et al. and the aforementioned ‘Acts of God‘ expanded and reexamined various points of their endurance while pulling the depth of composition back to simpler ~3.5 minute death metal vignettes, yielding a whopping fifteen tracks within the resulting bloat. ‘Descent‘ pulls back on the excess runtime of its predecessor, cuts down their selections to a handful of ear-hooking signature pieces, and uses a bit of filler to lend some additional cohesion of the full run.

‘Descent‘ features one of the stronger Side A campaigns we’ve seen from the band in some time, at least with regard for direct action. Each of the five pieces considered land some manner of notable movement and/or aggression though this isn’t Immolation at thier most clever or wilding movement as their songcraft becomes increasingly succinct over time. The damaging vaunt of their collective havoc and menacing tone are immediately characteristic as opener “These Vengeful Winds” calls down doom with every note, a cold and apocalyptic sermon delivered loud yet distant-shot. The thing that’d stood out to me upon approach echoed some sentiment I’d lobbed toward the previous album: The lead guitar statements, abstraction of the riffs, and general tempo map feel normalized rather than erratic.

“The Ephemeral Curse” takes a few more stabs in the dark by comparison as leads ring with alarm and swell with higher stakes movement. The divebomb ~1:41 minutes in and the scribbled lead around ~2:47 minutes in each stoke the nostalgic part of my brain in placement and technique though I’m not sure they compare to the effect of hearing a song like “Unholy Cult” and its wild leads for the first time. That said the assault of the song and the bullet-fed stumbling and doom through is exactly what I’d shown up for as a long time fan seeking a roaring Immolation record. That said I don’t know that the introductory pieces here deliver anything truly stoking and visceral ’til “God’s Last Breath” wheels into its escalation ~2:06 minutes in where chugging movement and wrathful strikes showcase the sort of interplay which’d escalated guitarist Bog Vigna‘s ouevre in the late 90’s. That level of diabolic rhythmic engagement persists throughout the middle portion of the full listen and provides most all of the standout pieces/moments in total.

The three main singles released for ‘Descent‘ all happen to be packed into the center of the running order with album seller “Adversary” obviously stoking the part of my brain that’d name ‘Close to a World Below‘ as a longtime favorite. Nearby “Bend Towards the Dark” is probably a more technically compelling standout by comparison with unique harmonies and rattling pace abounding, an expansion of some of the best traits found on ‘Acts of God‘ by my measure. This is an Immolation record I could definitely hang with as a fan and they’ve done nothing that’d interrupt the expectations set beyond slightly more careful curation of the listening experience. Some of the details missed for my taste on the walk up through the seventh piece or so but overall death metal’s most consistent and principled band haven’t screwed up the “formula” as it were.

The thing to say about Immolation at this point is that they’ve never relied upon attendance for profundity. What I mean to say is that sticking around and soldiering on isn’t enough, as we’ve seen with countless endlessly revived nostalgia-bait troupes over the years, but rather sticking to their convictions has meant an incredible discography year after year. ‘Descent‘ fits into that realm with exacting precision and does exactly what most fans want. Should they experiment in less subtle ways? Sure, but I don’t know that any effort to blur into abstraction or yield to “modern metal” demands would yield anything comparatively profound. If you told me that these folks would still be found holding their collective knife of apocalyptic dread direct to throat thirty years beyond ‘Here in After‘ I’d not have believed it and I suppose as a fan that is me patting them on the back while also ceding expectations beyond the known.

The descending pummel of “Host” and the closer/title track “Descent” are the major highlights of Side B beyond “Bend Towards the Dark”. The title track is a key redeemer here as one of the more protracted and brutal pieces on the full listen which contrasts well with the zone-out of the extended instrumental (“Banished”) which introduces it. Though I’d wanted the sophisticated hand of Immolation’s guitar work to engage in chaos like that piece more often it nonetheless serves as a rousing, deleterious assault as ‘Descent‘ collapses; Could I walk away from the full listen and recall any given song after a few dozen listens? Yes, more than the last few releases from the band, and I think that speaks to sticking to five songs per side rather than eight.

I’ve focused so heavily on legacy, the general action of ‘Descent‘ and minor changes to their modus is for the sake of appreciating what is fundamental to the Immolation experience but I won’t dodge the lyrical themes as these folks’ve writ some of the best in the sub-genre over the years. Invoking the endtyme for humanity from an irreligious perspective is of course of great interest and in this case their words read as damning judgement as often as they describe the cultlike tribes of man dealing with impending catastrophe in the worst ways possible. No boot-to-neck stomp is spared herein as their illustration of humanity is one of pathetic, greedy opportunists who’ve been easily deluded into enforcing their own idiotic demise. Again this isn’t the band at their all-time most verbose or clever but the oppressive, malign voice of the band lacks none of its gravitas today.

What you get out of a twelfth full-length album from a band who’ve been active for nearly forty years really depends on when you joined the timeline, what you’d expect from any band within reason, and how much attention you’ve paid ’em in the last twenty years. Sure, I’ll gripe with a few details and definitely still find their production values/sound design too loud and glossy but at the end of the day Immolation are yet my favorite active death metal band and have been for decades. The real question to pose here is how long will ‘Descent‘ stick in my small pool of enduring rotation as we tunnel toward the end of the year? The most honest answer I could give here, with the next to zero spins of the previous album pinging in mind, is that it probably won’t top my Best of the Year list but I will be there sweating and nodding at any/all nearby live appearances. A moderately high recommendation.

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