| Reviews for Immolation's Here in After |
| From The Hidden Bog of NY It Rose... - 97% |
| Written by Liquid_Braino
on November 3rd, 2009
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| A flurry of bludgeoning drum bashing and amorphous brutal riffing opens this work. No gloomy atmospheric intro misleading one to think maybe…just maybe…the band has shed their guitars to become a dark ambient group before the inevitable “gotcha!” battering of guitars dashes those worries or hopes. A wall of musical madness strikes like a sludge-coated sledgehammer to the face. So in tribute I’ll just review this thing without any background bullshit. No comments about when I first discovered it after thinking they had broken up due to such a time lapse since their previous album, or what I had for breakfast before playing this disc for the first time. None of that shit. Just a review…nothing more. This album is like a sunless, thick vapor drenched swamp ridden with carnivorous amphibians and mutating entities. Seriously, this album is organic, fat, muddy and alive, with ‘alive’ being the key word here since there’s a decent amount of muddy lifeless crap in the realms of extreme metal. The guitars here don’t simply switch from one chord sequence to the next. They mutate, writhe and squirm from riff to riff in such a way as to be unpredictable but not unmemorable. The rhythm section plays off the guitars well, with the drummer sometimes suddenly hitting off-beats to help enhance an effect of musical passages being played in reverse despite that not being the case. The guitar riffs need a paragraph of their own, so here it is. Holy shit! A swirling quagmire of bizarre chords and unexpected notes greets the ears with demented time signatures until a sudden catchy riff bursts out of nowhere like a giant tentacle tearing off your head and sending it soaring towards the nearest stain glass window. Catchy, yes, but not pretty. What they are though is heavy. Real heavy. Each song has its own set of memorable pulverizing chord progressions that are unique and even disquieting. From the shambling molasses of I Feel Nothing’s finest moments to the rapid-fire guttural blasts of weirdness within Away From God, there’s a whole lot of creativity going on here without embellishments or peaceful passages, which to me is an impressive feat since a constant bombardment of brutality can get a bit tiresome over the course of an entire album concerning lesser musicians. In this case, once I start playing this myrrh-drenched 37 minute creation, I practically need to listen to its entirety, sucked into its bubbling aural quicksand. Other aspects need to be brought up, such as vocals. They are a constant low roar that’s actually quite audible, making the delivery of the lyrics seem even more blasphemous. His vocals may not change much in pitch, but there’s a strong sense of rhythm to them that adds to the overall tempo and flow of the album. And they sound seriously evil. The lyrics he growls forth are basically anti-Christian in nature, not in a “Hail Satan” slant, but rather the more contemplative “Jesus, you reeeeally messed up this time” variety of prose. It gets a bit odd after awhile hearing the word “Jesus” mentioned so often throughout this disc, as if singer Ross’ obsession with the man was getting out of hand. Towards the album’s end I even felt sorry a bit for Christ almost enough to think “C’mon Ross…give the guy a break or at least let him finish his sandwich”. This makes the album cover an ironic statement of sorts, with demons in agony in the presence of a particularly strong angel, like retribution for the event depicted on Dawn Of Possession’s cover. With these demons desperately blocking their ears, I imagine the angel is probably belting out something akin to Celine Dion, or maybe Underoath. Guitar solos also deserve a mention, as they snake around each song structure with a strange vigorous blend of chaos and melody. These solos are neither fluffy with a prog-like melodic approach nor an atonal blast of random notes. There’s definitely a structure going on concerning these solos...a very warped one at that, but still relatively stable. The production quality is where the swampy atmosphere can be attributed. This is definitely death metal of the “old-school” variety, without the sterile polished sheen of more recent fare. Drums in particular, lack in precise clarity and without a particularly taut snare drum, while the bass drums have strong low-end to emit a brutal vibe, occasionally oozing into the guitars making some blasting passages discordant and difficult to interpret. A thick miasma hovers over the general churning progressions, but I don’t think it affects the album negatively, since the sheer brutality of this monster is still completely intact, but with an added oppressive atmosphere. This album should be ranked as a true death metal classic. Sure, Dawn Of Possession was monstrously awesome for its time, and their Close To A World Below & Unholy Cult era is deservingly praised, but Here In After combines that old-school charm with a more modern technical approach so damn well that it can’t be ignored. It’s not easy listening even by death metal standards, as it doesn’t follow traditional power chord and blastbeat structures like so many other bands. Of course, that’s why I dig it so much. Easy listening is for Celine Dion fans, or maybe Underoath. |
| Not for phillistines or those lacking dedication - 96% |
| Written by HowDisgusting
on January 27th, 2009
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| It's tough to maintain the appearance of objectivity when talking about one's favorite band. It's tougher still when said band's genius seems to be lost on a lot of people. So I say, 'fuck it, I'm gonna ham this thing up and let everyone else decide if I'm being fair.' Immolation's sophomore effort, nearly five years in the making after 1991's Dawn of Poossession was the result of a protracted evolutionary period that saw the band transform from a relatively standard atmospheric NYDM sound to a genre-redefining, cacophonous orchestra that sounded like it was created by some mad scientist, experimenting with sonic torture in hell's own laboratory. Here In After is Immolation at their most experimental, and their most inaccessible. The payoff is very high, but this is the last album I'd recommend to someone when introducing them to the band for the first time. Right from the opening strains of "Nailed To Gold", you can tell that this is no ordinary death metal album. The initial groove in this song is a flurry of dissonant harmonies over an asymmetrical rhythm that would be a challenge for even an experienced jazz player to replicate without quite a bit of practice... and things haven't even really kicked into high gear yet. We're still in 4/4! Structurally, "Nailed" is probably the most straightforward song on here, with a verse-verse-chorus-solo-chorus-verse arrangement. But the individual riffs are twisted to a degree unheard-of in metal at the time. Guitarists Bob Vigna and Tom Wilkinson, over the half-decade it took to create this album, expanded their repertoire of techniques and their understanding of music theory almost exponentially, it seems. Here In After, in its entirety is so rife with unorthodox phrasings and rhythm patterns that even Igor Stravinsky would have to tip his hat and stand impressed. Immolation does things with slides and bends on this record that were ordinarily considered the domain of the whammy bar junkie - check out the ending riff of the masterpiece title track for just one example. There are also ample nods to Voivod and their prog rock forefathers in the chord voicings, which go a long way towards imbuing this album with a convincingly sinister ambience that most extreme metal bands can only dream of replicating. There's also not even a hint of the type of tiresome sameness on Here In After that's plagued so many death metal albums over the years. Each song has a completely unique structure and a hook that resembles nothing else on the record. There's no confusing the fluttery canter of "Under the Supreme" with the grotesque sludginess of "Here In After", the epic build and climax of "Christ's Cage" or the monstrous wail of "I Feel Nothing". True, there's some overlap... each song contains one or two expansive and indulgent riffs that stretch out over 3-4-5 bars, as well as a couple of hypnotic, almost industrial-sounding grooves. But the arrangement style differs greatly from song to song. There are flaws amongst the majesty here, of course. When you have an album that defies convention so consistently, there's bound to be some excess that goes untrimmed. Fortunately, most of that is confined to one song - the exorbitantly convoluted and overwritten "Towards Earth". It's not a bad song, but it contains at least a minute's worth of needless riffage that doesn't really add anything to it. There are also some issues with the production - it took Immolation until their 5th album to discover a balance that did justice to both the atmospheric and technical aspects of their music. Here In After sounds appropriately dark and ugly, but when listened to with headphones, there appears to be somewhat of an incongruity between the guitar and drum sounds - almost like the percussion was recorded with a different overall production in mind. Things don't quite blend as they should. There are also some clarity issues that make the low register progressions a bit difficult to decipher. The whole disc would benefit quite a bit from a remaster. Still, these flaws are decidedly minor in the context of what's generally a brilliant, innovative, once-in-a-lifetime record. As mentioned, there's a very steep 'learning curve' to fully appreciating it, but once the top of that curve is reached, the album becomes an addiction of the best kind. |
| Good First Half, Weaker Second Half - 90% |
| Written by optimuszgrime
on March 6th, 2008
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| Personal favorite. Immolation is a band that can be recognized even if they were cloned, which never seems to happen. Their particular style of riffing is not touched by any one, and not popularized by anyone. Especially the riffing on this album, which involves some odd times and some really weird and creeping, oozing melodies, along with some weird off time shit and intentionally misplaced drums. They create riffs that stick out and fuck your mind. This album is full of said riffs. There are a couple on each song, but sadly not all songs are alike in goodness, and a couple of fillers can be found. The last three songs in my opinion are mediocre, but the rest of the album is so good that it makes up for it ten fold. So all in all that is the only reason I will not give it the 100%, even though I am very tempted to. It is seriously that good. Those first few songs are just the weirdest, cleanest sounding thing ever. That is another thing about Immolation, they have these illuminating, clear headed observant riffs. I do not know how to describe further, they just seem to come out of the muddled and drudging riffs to whack you upside the head and radiate meaning into the songs. The main riff on ‘I Feel Nothing’ is such an example, or the trem picked high end riff on ‘Nailed To Gold’. It just makes it so fucking awesome, I cannot even begin to describe. Fans of Incantation and other slower death metal bands will love this band, but they probably know them already. I also think this album is better than their previous one, and is a step up, even though that one also fucking slays. But to be honest, I doubt many albums can hang with the first half of this album, and I should not be surprised that they could not keep up to their own standards on the second part of it. Kind of a shame. Still all good songs, just the last few are kinda average, which sticks out on an album that is so fucking good as this one. |
| A pillar in death metal - 99% |
| Written by orphy
on February 19th, 2008
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| A long standing figure in death metal, Immolation crafted their own style of death metal quickly in the early days of death metal. After releasing the pummelling debut "Dawn of Possession", Immolation offered their second, and greatest recording. This album is a monumental piece of death metal, as it not only defined the identity of Immolation, but it defied death metal without any frills or gimmicks. "Here In After" still stands as a landmark album today. Upon listening to this album for the first time, many fans may find the riffs to go over their head. Immolation has this technical flair to them in terms of execution and riff arrangements that is seldom used (and seldom perfected as Immolation does it). Jagged riffs with drum beats that follow in jaggedness barrage the listener from all directions. Bass playing is rhythmic but also follows the madness. And vocally, this band likes bass heavy vocals but with increased annunciation. The result is an album that is challenging to listen to but rewarding in the end. What makes this album so much different than most other death metal bands is the internal musical workings. Although it contains the needed components of death metal, here the band will use unorthodox approaches. The sense of melody on this album is desolate and unconventional. However, the melodies are composed with such brilliance that they stick in ones head. Vigna will float these overtop of finger twisting riffs. The band uses many nuances in their riffs that make them stand out, and no riff is forgettable. Things like small bends, harmonics, and weird chord formations make them unique but the band does this in a way where everything seems "right". Songs like "I Feel Nothing" are a great example of how this band can make good hooks that sound evil. The vocals are easy to understand, and they are completely nihilistic and anti-Christian. Immolation crushes all the fallacies of the bible with each song, and shows no remorse. Although it's pretty typical of death metal to have these lyrics, Immolation does it with feeling which puts it above many other bands. Another thing that helps this album with flow is how the drums work. Although the fast parts are certainly fast, there is lots of room for fills, and this allows the band to easily come into slower tempo parts, which also breathe quite well. Again, that is the advantage of following the riff and being more concerned with feel rather than the perfection. However, Immolation are masters of their craft so perfection is pretty much achieved. This album certainly stood out amongst the crowd when it came out and still does today. Immolation are one of the few bands that strives to play death metal like this, and do a great job at making original tunes without combining death metal with some random genre. |
| Here In After - 89% |
| Written by heavymetalprodigy
on October 31st, 2006
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| Immolation’s core sound is much like a morphed Morbid Angel; just add a thousand odd time signatures, some muddy production and tons of Christ hating blasphemy. As a collective, Immolation work to blend instruments. Even amidst constant time change they encounter, they stay tight and controlled. “Burn with Jesus” is a nice example. The guitars and hardly audible bass chug away with twisted riffs while the percussion runs with pattern upon pattern. Bob Vigna and Tom Wilkinson’s guitar tone is akin to early underground death metal, but tuned to C. You can’t really pull the bass out, as it’s buried beneath layers of guitars. And with the muddy production, the guitars get lost sometimes also, which hurts the overall feel of the album a bit. Vigna and Wilkinson love to conjure up jagged, labyrinthine guitar lines and you are going to want to really hear them. Craig Smilowski works well within the fucked up riffs that Vigna and Wilkinson spawn. He keeps your attention locked with ever increasing variation. He loves the switch up his organization by adding the toms more frequently. But, it’s hard to keep track of his chaotic ideas along with Vigna and Wilkinson. Sometimes you have to wonder how in the hell is he keeping the foundation of these songs? The band also plays with tempo. All tracks have sections where the band slows it down, and the transitions are perfect. As for Ross Dolan, there isn’t much for me to say. He does convey emotion to the listener as he screams about the infidelity of Christ, but he doesn’t stamp his voice into your mind. He has the power, but something’s missing. Here in After takes the abstract ideas that were spawned in death metal early days and weaves it into something that could have only been taken from the deep, dark abyss their minds. To death metal fan: stop reading and go get this. |