American death metal titans Immolation are releasing their second album of the decade and the 12th of their career. The band's reputation was established with their debut album Dawn of Possession, and considered by many death metal fans as one of the greatest death metal albums of all time. With nearly 40 years in the business, the band’s energy shows no sign of waning, and the new album Descent is proof that the band remains a force to be reckoned with. The album is released via Nuclear Blast Records.
So, Descent is an album featuring ten tracks with a total running time of 41 minutes and 35 seconds. As on previous albums, Immolation deliver complex death metal tinted with a dark edge, which is one of the most consistent traits in their discography. It is, in other words, direct, brutal and intense death metal. The melodies are gloomy and can be heard in tracks such as These Vengeful Winds and Adversary; on this track they are subtle yet captivating. While other tracks take on a slower pace, such as God’s Last Breath, which I consider to be the album’s doom/death metal track.
The guitars maintain a fast pace, with more frequent tempo changes on certain tracks such as Adversary. The guitar work on The Ephemeral Curse and Attrition reaches its peak, with a performance that demonstrates the band’s maturity. On the other hand, the solos are sometimes quite melodic, such as the one on Host, whilst others are more strident and raw, as on Descent (although the latter does feature more melodic solo towards the end of the track). The drums stand out on tracks such as Attrition, False Ascent and even the final track, Descent. And on Bend Towards the Dark, the drums deliver one of their finest performances, with fast, short and effective beats. It is on this track, from 3:06 onwards, that the drums put on a real display of power.
The vocals remain consistently powerful with their deep growls, often with a sinister feeling. I find that the standout vocal moments are on God’s Last Breath and Bend Towards the Dark. It’s also worth noting that the performance is equally powerful on the title track, Descent. As for the production, it’s clean and modern, with every detail of every sound perfectly clear.
Among the moments I particularly enjoyed were the atmosphere and composition on The Ephemeral Curse from 0:22 and 1:00 onwards. God's Last Breath offers a darker, more vengeful composition, making it my favourite track on the album; the track’s climax can be heard from 2:56. On the track Adversary, from 2:29 onwards, the harmony of the instruments and the composition are incredibly well executed (a moment I really enjoyed). The same quality of performance is also evident on the following track, Attrition. I also absolutely loved the blast beats at the start of the track False Ascent.
To conclude this review, I would say that Descent is an album I find intense, and one that I’ve come to appreciate more naturally than their previous album, Acts of God. Once again, the American band has demonstrated its maturity to its audience whilst retaining the complex, technical and dark nature of death metal. An album that is sure to divide the death metal community, but from my viewpoint, I find Descent to be a well-written and well-executed album.
