Immolation: Kingdom Of Conspiracy – new album

 

Capturing the times we live in perfectly with the title of their new album ‘Kingdom Of Conspiracy’, IMMOLATION's ninth full-length is out now in Europe (May 10th, 2013) on Nuclear Blast Records. ‘Kingdom Of Conspiracy’ will be released in UK on May 13th, and in North America on May 14th, 2013. Produced by Paul Orofino and mixed and mastered by Zack Ohren, with Orwellian-like artwork created by Swedish artist Pär Olofsson, the relentless album awaits you here and here (Nuclear Blast store), on iTunes and Amazon. Check out lyrics videos for the title-track and ‘Indoctrinate’ below, and for the behind the scenes stuff visit here and here (YouTube):

“[Explained guitarist Robert Vigna:] The album deals with the world today and the slow unraveling and breakdown of our societies and the systems and structures behind them. It speaks of the human side to all this and how we have all lost our way and have fed into these very systems that are slowly coming apart. This is the common thread running throughout the album and the cover paints a very dark picture of the future, where these systems have completely absorbed our world, and our freedoms and we have become a part of the very fabric of these structures that we have created. Each song is a symptom of this mass sickness that has brought the world to the point it is at now, and we paint a very bleak picture of this slow and gradual breakdown and the human failures that sped this process along. This is the ‘Kingdom Of Conspiracy’.”

“Let’s just preempt all the bullshit adverbs and comparisons for a minute: the new IMMOLATION album is really fucking good,” [starts off his review of the album MetalSucks' Emperor Rhombus who rewarded it with 4/5 marking] … Two things immediately stand out to the listener: the production, and the guitars. The former is clear, but not crisp, maintaining a lushness that brutal death metal often loses and steering away from a stark brittleness the genre often courts for technicality's sake. The latter blows the mind: driving, unrelenting leads juxtaposed next to grinding central riffs that are more percussive than melodic; [guitarists] Bill Taylor and Robert Vigna somehow exude the album's themes - mind control, enforced lies, the hideousness of modern life, the sense of being an unwitting puppet - through these edged, almost melancholy guitar lines that never overuse the pinch harmonics or repeat the same riff to the point of exhaustion,” [read the rest here]

Once called RIGOR MORTIS, IMMOLATION formed in New York in 1986. Signing with Roadrunner Records, the band released – these days considered a death metal classic - their debut full-length in 1991, entitled ‘Dawn Of Possession’. Moving to Metal Blade Records, IMMOLATION next recorded 1995's ‘Here And After’, the last album to feature original drummer Craig Smilowski. With new drummer Alex Hernandez, bassist and vocalist Ross Dolan and guitarists Thomas Wilkinson and Robert Vigna released IMMOLATION's third album, 1999's ‘Failures For Gods’, closely followed by 2000's ‘Close To A World Below’. Through French label Listenable Records the band, now counting six-stringer Bill Taylor who replaced Wilkinson, issued 2002's album ‘Unholy Cult’, the last album to feature drummer Alex Hernandez. 2005's ‘Harnessing Ruin’, which found Steve Shalaty behind the drum kit, was described by AllMusic's Eduardo Rivadavia as “one of the most inspired and texturally varied records of [IMMOLATION's] career”:

“All told, these nine songs constitute an embarrassment of riches, and deliver a much-needed shot in the arm for the American death metal scene,” read the rest here]

After 2007's ‘Shadows In The Light’, IMMOLATION switched labels once again. Through Nuclear Blast Records the death metal legends (with over two decades under their belts) and one of the most ferocious live bands out there, issued their eight full-length, 2010's ‘Majesty And Decay’:

“IMMOLATION's sound has evolved over the years,” [wrote Alex Henderson, AllMusic] “On 2010's ‘Majesty And Decay’ they favor technical death metal with hints of black metal at times. Black metal isn’t a huge influence on this sledgehammer of a CD; all of Ross Dolan's lead vocals are stereotypical death metal “Cookie Monster” growls, and there is no question that [this] is a death metal album first and foremost. Nonetheless, scorching tracks like ‘The Purge’ and ‘A Glorious Epoch’ have enough black metal influence to add to the menacing vibe that IMMOLATION were obviously going for.” [Read the rest here]

IMMOLATION features: Ross Dolan – bass and vocals, Robert Vigna – guitar, Bill Taylor – guitar and Steve Shalaty - drums‬