Immolation - Unholy Cult (Listenable Records)

The fact that even after more than a decade since the release of their debut album Dawn Of Possession on Trend...er... Roadrunner Records, Immolation still carries no more than a "cult" following [as is indicated by this album's title] is a bitter testament to the fickleness and impatience of what is supposed to be a dedicated metal crowd. This band is the embodiment of everything that remains virtuous and forward-thinking in a death metal scene that struggles to stay afloat while being dragged down by an ever-growing throng of useless "worship" bands. They are one of an elite handful of death metal bands [along with Gorguts, The Chasm, Nile and Behemoth] that possesses the elusive trifecta of having their own trademark style, quality songwriting and a great sense of atmosphere. Yes, their unconventional, angular approach to both riffing and songwriting may put off quite a few people at first [myself being one of them], but if one takes the time to digest all the quirky riff changes and probe all the layers of sound [and there are a lot of them], there will come a point at which everything Immolation has to offer will become apparent and they will be recognized for the creative geniuses that they are. And, speaking from experience, when you reach this point of enlightenment, you will desire very much to go back in time and kick your own ass for not liking this band right off the bat. It's like some wonderful drug, it really is... first comes apprehensiveness, reluctance and uncertainty; then, slowly, you begin to understand what some of the hype is about and decide to take baby steps and experiment; then, before you know it, you're completely addicted and couldn't be happier.

Unholy Cult is the Yonkers, NY-based quartet's fifth album, and like those before it, it exhibits a perfectly fluid, natural progression from the previous album [in this case it was 2000's Close To A World Below.] CTAWB introduced a very welcome touch of trance to the band's songwriting chemistry. I realize that saying anything so indulgently technical can contain trance elements sounds ridiculous, but if you pay close attention to the flow of riffs on that disc and compare them to that on Here In After [1996] or Failures For Gods [1999], you'll realize that in many places where the band previously tended to suffocate the listener with dizzying, hyper-amorphous riff changes, they instead opted to give each pattern more breathing room and allowed it to play out for a full bar or two, rather than cutting it off with another one after half or even a quarter of a bar. In conjunction with the heavy layering of sound, the greater emphasis on repitition was most definitely capable of having a trance-like encompassing effect on the listener. If you don't believe me, put Close To A World Below in your portable cd player and listen to it somewhere free of distractions... you will understand.

Anyway, As I was saying, Unholy Cult is the next logical step from the World Below, retaining the trance-like qualities while strengthening that fragile balance between angularity and catchiness that the band managed to attain on that last record, improving the consistency of songwriting and adding more variety to the pacing amongst the songs. These are all rather subtle changes, though. The biggest improvement is in the production. Close To... had a HUGE, booming sound, yes, but it still lacked an adequate level of guitar mid-range, as well as a defined bass presence. Unholy Cult corrects those problems, providing the band with an impeccably well-rounded guitar sound and giving the bass some much-needed breathing room, making it fully audible throughout and keeping it from getting lost in the mix.

The one thing that has always remained constant with Immolation - the untampered-with, venomous [but well-enunciated] growls of Ross Dolan and the iconoclastic debunkings of the Christian establishment that Dolan's throat is a conduit for - are still present. Some may wish that these two elements of this band's formula were altered or done away with altogether, but I say, 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it.' As one-dimensional as they are, I still think Ross' vocals are among the best in their business, and the lyrics go hand-in-hand with Immolation's eerie, dissonant melodies, as they always have.

One very obvious question remains unanswered by Unholy Cult: How much farther can they go? I can already tell you that it's going to take something completely rapturous and unprecedented to overthrow Unholy Cult as the best extreme metal album of 2002. But with that in mind, just how much more can this band continue to fine-tune their trademark sound beyond this point without risking stagnation? Will the next album be more of the same, or will they turn around and attempt something completely different at the risk of alienating the fan base they've worked so hard to establish? ...Whatever, I'm just being cynical. I write this review having listened to this album a half-dozen times, and I know for certain that my appreciation of it hasn't peaked yet. If you have yet to discover Immolation, go get this disc and find out just what I'm talking about.

By: R. Temin